Frantic in Frisco
by LuckyLadybug
Summary: CONCLUDED WITH CHAPTERS 19 AND 20! PLEASE READ AND LEAVE A NICE REVIEW! The YGO gang stops in San Francisco, but quickly get caught up in another web of mystery, lies, and deceit! Not yaoi, my friends XD
1. An Old Friend

Yu-Gi-Oh!  
Frantic in 'Frisco  
By Lucky_Ladybug  
  
  
Notes: Ah, y'all must know the drill by now. The characters aren't mine and this ain't yaoi! ^_~  
  
  
  
"Wow!" Tea exclaimed, leaning over the railing of the cruise ship to look out at the San Francisco Harbor, where they were docking. "It's beautiful!" She and the others were just finishing up a cruise that had been enjoyable for the most part—except at the beginning, when they had been dealing with many strange criminals on board. Mysteries seemed to be following them around lately, and Tea was becoming sick of it. The one they'd just solved had been their seventh.  
  
Joey seemed confused. "Why are we stoppin' here?" he asked. "Isn't the ship supposed to turn around and go back home?"  
  
"Weren't you listening?" Tristan shook his head in disbelief. "It's gonna go back home, alright, but first we're docking here in Frisco for a few days."  
  
"Oh man," Joey groaned. "That means we'll probably run into a mystery again!"  
  
"Strange," Seto remarked as he came up on deck, Mokuba in tow. "I thought you enjoyed all the action, Wheeler."  
  
Joey grumbled angrily to himself, not wanting to admit to Seto that he'd had enough action to last him a lifetime.  
  
"You know," Yugi said now, "the mystery isn't even finished. After all, there's the matter of that strange guy who came to get his staff."  
  
"Don't remind me," Tea sighed.  
  
Joey seemed to ignore all that. "Well, what're we waitin' for?" he cried. "We're in San Francisco! Let's get sight-seein'!"  
  
As he went to leap down the ramp, the Brooklyn boy was suddenly startled by what seemed to be a huge wave rising from the ocean. "Yaaaaaa!" he yelped as a whale emerged and soared over the deck, spraying water everywhere.  
  
Everyone else ducked, shielding themselves from the torrent, and then they heard a familiar chuckle.  
  
"Hello, my friends!"  
  
Now the teens looked up. "Mako?" Tea called.  
  
The dark-haired boy somersaulted off the whale's back and onto the ship's deck. "Yes, it is I," he confirmed.  
  
After everyone had exchanged greetings, Mako asked them what they had been up to lately.  
  
"Well, actually," Yugi admitted, "we've been solving a lot of mysteries."  
  
"They've been poppin' up every time we turn around," Joey put in.  
  
Mako looked amused at that. "Will you be staying in San Francisco long?" he asked now.  
  
"For a few days," Tea replied. "We were just going to go look around."  
  
Mako smiled. "I would be honored to serve as your tour guide," he said. "I have become quite familiar with this great city over the last couple of months."  
  
"Wow, Mako," Tea smiled. "That would be really cool!"  
  
The others all agreed to the idea as well, and soon they were all preparing to start out.  
  
"We have to be back to the ship in a couple of hours," Yugi reminded them, as most of the passengers—Yugi and his friends included—would still be eating and sleeping on the cruise ship while they were in San Francisco, and to keep everyone safe and accounted for, Captain Hardy had set up a curfew.  
  
"Then we must make haste," Mako smiled. "There is much to see."  
  
"We are ready to leave," Marik announced as he came up from the floor below, Ishizu and Rishid in tow.  
  
Mako blinked. "Hello," he greeted. "I am Mako Tsunami. I don't believe I have met you before."  
  
"My name is Marik Ishtar," the other boy replied, and introduced those with him.  
  
Mako looked astonished. "You are Marik Ishtar?!" he cried.  
  
Marik stood firm, but he looked perplexed. "You have heard of me?" he asked, blinking.  
  
Mako was about to reply when Mai Valentine approached. "Hey, Yugi!" she called. "Mind if I join you?"  
  
Yugi turned, surprised. "Huh? Oh . . . sure, Mai," he smiled.  
  
As they walked down the ramp and onto the dock, Marik turned to Mako once more. "What was it you were about to say?" the Egyptian boy demanded.  
  
Mako looked at him very seriously. "I once received an anonymous message that a member of the Ishtar family would be able to assist me on my quest. Since then, I have been searching for anyone belonging to this family in the hope that they truly can help me."  
  
Marik just looked puzzled. "And what kind of a quest are you on?" he asked.  
  
Again Mako was interrupted as a rough-faced man tore past, clutching something in a tightly-wrapped bundle. He pushed past Yugi, Seto, and Tea—who were all in his way—and dashed down the dock before sprinting onto a departing motorboat.  
  
"Hey!" Yugi cried indignantly, helping Tea regain her balance.  
  
"Well, that was rude," Mai commented.  
  
"Who was that clown?!" Joey cried in annoyance.  
  
Seto grunted and didn't bother answering, since he had no idea.  
  
"Well, he sure was in a big hurry!" Tea exclaimed.  
  
It wasn't long before another man came tearing down the path. He stopped short when he saw the large group in his way, however, and looked about frantically.  
  
"Did you see a tough-looking man come by?" he exclaimed.  
  
"Actually, we did," Yugi replied.  
  
"He jumped onto that motorboat," Bakura added, pointing to the tiny speck out on the water.  
  
The man groaned. "It's very important that I catch him!" he cried. "He has just stolen a priceless artifact from the museum!" Before the teens and the others could say anything more, the man had ran ahead and leaped onto another motorboat in order to give chase.  
  
"That was odd," Tea remarked. "I sure hope he catches that guy!"  
  
Mako shook his head. "There have been several strange robberies in the city of late," he reported.  
  
"Really?" Bakura exclaimed. "That's terrible!"  
  
"What kinds of things have been stolen?" Yugi asked, intrigued.  
  
Mako paused, trying to remember. "Mostly various artifacts from the museums," he said at last. "The burglars seem to favor things from ancient Egypt."  
  
Ishizu instantly became alert. "How very curious," she murmured, her blue eyes narrowing.  
  
There was a flash of light and Yami Yugi appeared, also looking attentive. "Do you have a theory about what is happening?" he asked her.  
  
The Egyptian woman hesitated. "Nothing definite," she said slowly, glancing at Marik.  
  
Marik blinked his lavender eyes at her in confusion. "What are you thinking of, sister?"  
  
Ishizu looked uneasy. "We shall talk later," she said, now exchanging a look with Rishid. When we are alone, she added silently.  
  
Marik looked at them both, completely confused, but he didn't press the matter.  
  
Oh great, Tea thought to herself in frustration, we've barely docked and already we're getting involved in another mystery—or two!  
  
Before long they arrived in downtown San Francisco, and Mako pointed out various points of interest.  
  
"Here's the museum," he announced presently.  
  
"Is this where that artifact was stolen from?" Joey asked.  
  
"Most likely," Mako replied.  
  
Yugi headed for the door. "Why don't we go in and have a talk with the curator?" he suggested. "Maybe we can help in some way."  
  
Tea knew there was no stopping him. Like it or not, they were involved in a new mystery.  
  
As the group entered, all of them were checked and double-checked by a security team and then at last ushered into the main lobby.  
  
"Man, what was all that about?!" Joey cried in annoyance.  
  
"I apologize for any inconvenience," the man at the front desk purred, "but we have been having so much trouble with criminals lately that we can't be too careful. Someone came in with a gun last week and threatened everyone here."  
  
"Oh my!" Bakura cried in horror. "How terrible!"  
  
The man nodded, then studied them curiously. "How may I help you?" he asked now.  
  
Yami Yugi stepped forward. "We have come to see the museum curator," he announced.  
  
"I'm sure he can't be disturbed now," the man replied in a bored tone.  
  
"But it's about the robberies," Yugi put in. "We wondered if we could help in some way."  
  
Now the man raised an eyebrow. "Are you the police?" he asked rudely. "You certainly are the strangest lot of plainclothesmen I've ever seen."  
  
"Mr. Winters!" a harsh voice said from the doorway. Tea couldn't help but think how appropriate the name was for the man, what with his icy personality and all.  
  
"Sir?" Mr. Winters turned to look at the man who, apparently, was his boss.  
  
"Why must you always be so frosty to our guests?" the other man cried, shaking his head. "Come, come, my friends. I am Stephen Reilly, the museum curator." He gestured to his office. "I would be happy to speak with all of you."  
  
"Thanks," Yugi smiled as they were all ushered inside.  
  
As they filed in one by one, Reilly suddenly gasped and stared at Marik. The Egyptian boy backed up, uncomfortable with this man's piercing gaze.  
  
"What is it?" he cried at last.  
  
"I've seen you before!" Reilly burst out, pointing his forefinger at Marik. "I know I have!!" 


	2. Mistaken Identities

Marik gasped and everyone's eyes widened.  
  
"You have seen me?!" Marik cried, starting to feel uneasy. This was the second person who had recognized him—or his name—today, and he wondered if that was good or bad. Though his memories had been restored, he of course didn't remember every single thing he had done throughout the years, and some things were still veiled in shadow to him.  
  
"It had to have been you!" Reilly said firmly.  
  
Now over the initial shock, Marik stood tall, his eyes narrowed. "Well, for the love of Heaven, where on earth have you seen me before?!" he burst out.  
  
Reilly also stood tall. "It was last week," he said, "during one of the robberies. I was looking out my window on the second floor, and I saw someone standing silhouetted in the shadows right outside the door below, and then he turned and looked up at me. It was you!!" he cried.  
  
"WHAT?!" Marik exclaimed in disbelief.  
  
"That is impossible," Yami Yugi said, narrowing his eyes.   
  
"Yes, yes, I know," Reilly said, nodding impatiently. "Your friend isn't a thief."  
  
"Not only that," Tea broke in, "but Marik was with us on a cruise last week!"  
  
"And hundreds of people can attest to that," Seto added.  
  
Reilly backed up, blinking at this. "I am truly sorry," he apologized to Marik. "But the resemblance between you and the boy I saw is striking."  
  
Rishid stepped up next to his adopted brother and laid his hand on Marik's shoulder. "He is not the one you seek," he said firmly.  
  
"I can see that now," Reilly admitted sheepishly. "This boy looks much kinder than the one who was looking up at me."  
  
Tristan gave Marik a sideways glance. "Man, if you've got a double running around, it could mean really big trouble—especially for you."  
  
"You certainly are encouraging, Tristan," Bakura remarked.  
  
Marik sighed and shook his head. "Tristan is right," he said, turning to look back at Reilly. "Tell me, what was stolen that night?" he asked.  
  
The man rubbed at his temples as if he had a bad headache. "Several Ming vases," he replied.  
  
"Someone braved all the security and alarms just to steal some vases?!" Joey exclaimed in disbelief.  
  
"Not just any vases," Reilly scolded. "These were priceless artifacts from China!"  
  
Joey blinked and shrugged, still not understanding how a vase could be so important. "Can I ask a question?" he said now.  
  
"Certainly," Reilly replied, looking confused.  
  
"If you were watching from your window while this robbery was going on, why the heck didn't you try to stop it?" Joey asked.  
  
Everyone turned to stare at him in disbelief.  
  
"It's alright," Reilly sighed, shaking his head. "I would have, except I found myself locked in my office. Most likely the work of the burglars themselves."  
  
"How terrible!" Bakura exclaimed. "Do the police have any leads at all on who is behind this?"  
  
"None so far," Reilly replied, "but I'd better call the police and make sure to tell them that the burglar I saw has a double who is innocent. Hopefully, then you won't get arrested by accident," he said to Marik.  
  
"Hopefully," Marik grunted.  
  
Ishizu stepped forward. "I have been told that most of the stolen artifacts are from ancient Egypt," she said smoothly.  
  
"That is true," Reilly nodded.  
  
"I work for the Egyptian Historical Society," Ishizu said now, "and I may be able to help you solve this mystery."  
  
Yugi nodded. "We've all been solving mysteries lately," he admitted, "and we'd all be happy to help." He paused. "We won't be in San Francisco long, but while we're here, we could sure do what we can to catch the burglars!"  
  
Reilly sighed, then smiled weakly. "I could use all the help I can get," he said.  
  
"Then it's agreed," Yami Yugi smiled in return.  
  
"Hey," Joey grinned, "with the way things go, we'll probably have things wrapped up in a couple of days!"  
  
"We can hope," Mai said cynically.  
  
****  
  
Once the group was outside the museum, they continued to discuss this latest case.  
  
"Man, why the heck are there so many Egyptian artifacts being stolen?!" Joey cried in disbelief. "It seems like lately we've been chasin' after all kinds of priests' purloined staffs and stuff like that!"  
  
Yugi chuckled, but then became serious. "Back on the ship, Shadi told me that there've been thefts like that all over the world—not just in Egypt, and certainly not just here in San Francisco." He paused, unsure of exactly how much he could reveal. "He's afraid that there's another great evil about to be unleashed on the world," the boy said at last. "It started way back in January when Seth returned from the Shadow Realm, and Shadi thinks that it's been continuing on since then."  
  
"Seth isn't gonna come back again, is he?!" Mokuba cried in horror, his gray eyes wide.  
  
"Not if I can help it, kid," Seto replied comfortingly, pulling him close. Seth was the last person he wanted to meet up with right now—or any time, for that matter.  
  
Yami Yugi shook his head. "I wish I could remember the man who took the staff," he remarked.  
  
"Maybe it really was the dude the staff belonged to," Tristan suggested.   
  
"Yeah," Joey said, "that Khu character, or whatever his name is."  
  
From somewhere inside the Millennium Ring, Yami Bakura growled as unwelcome memories came back to him.  
  
Yami Yugi smiled wryly. "I'm certain it was him," he said. "Somewhere in the back of my mind, I have a vague remembrance of someone named Khu, but I just can't place who he was."  
  
Mai sighed, looking weary. "Well, you guys can keep your mysteries," she declared. "I think I'll go shopping."  
  
"Hey, be our guest," Joey replied. "But be sure to tell us if somethin' strange happens!"  
  
Mai groaned. "It'd better not," she said. "Enough strange things have happened to last me a good while." And with that, she wandered off to find the nearest shopping district.  
  
Joey blinked as he watched her go. "Maybe we should all split up," he suggested, "and see if we can find anything out of the ordinary."  
  
Seto grunted. "I doubt that, Wheeler," he said, but he still agreed to help look. As expected, nothing (or no one) unusual was found, and so the groups soon prepared to return to the ship, confused and befuddled.  
  
Of course, no one was more confused than Marik.  
  
"Why is all of this happening?!" he cried. "I do not know why everyone seems to know me today!"  
  
Ishizu laid a hand on his shoulder. "We will find out who your double is," she assured him.  
  
"It's not just that," Marik replied. "Why on earth would someone tell Mako that I could help him?!" he exclaimed, perplexed.  
  
"That is strange," Ishizu said slowly, but then she smiled. "Perhaps, Marik, you truly can help," she told him now.  
  
Marik lapsed into silence, knowing that he would need to speak with Mako again once they were all back at the ship. As he mulled over things in his mind, he suddenly remembered the uneasy way Ishizu had looked earlier when they were talking about the burglaries. "What is going on, you two?" he asked suddenly, looking up at his sister and brother. "I know you have some sort of suspicions about the robberies."  
  
Again the two older Egyptians exchanged a look, and then Rishid turned to look at Marik. "Marik," he said slowly, "have you heard anything from your Yami lately?"  
  
Marik blinked. "My Yami?" he repeated, shuddering. The last time he had seen his Yami was back in January, when they had fought for the Millennium Rod in a flaming warehouse. Marik had appeared to have perished in the fire, and as a result, Yami Marik had been sealed in the Rod. Or so they all thought. He hadn't bothered to try connecting with Marik through their mental bond since then, and Marik was perfectly alright with that. Still . . . since Marik wasn't dead and Yami Marik wasn't locked in the Rod anymore, it seemed odd that the ancient spirit hadn't tried to cause more trouble. "No, I haven't," he said at last. "But Rishid, what are you saying? My Yami wouldn't be interested in stealing Ming vases!"  
  
"You are right, brother," Rishid agreed, still looking worried.  
  
"But what if there is something more serious and important than vases being stolen?" Ishizu suggested quietly. "Brother, I know you don't want to think of doing this, but when we are back onboard the ship, perhaps you had best see if you can find your Yami."  
  
Marik looked down, the thought obviously unappealing to him. But still . . . if his Yami was loose and causing trouble, it was very important for them to know. "Alright," he said at last. "I will do it."  
  
At that moment, a cold, unfriendly voice called out to them. "Hey you!"  
  
The trio turned to look. A grizzled man was leaning against the side of a building, watching them like a hawk.  
  
"What do you want?!" Marik demanded.  
  
The man grinned nastily. "I know we ain't supposed to talk in public, but I wanted to make sure you remembered our appointment tonight."  
  
Marik's eyes narrowed. "I have never seen you before," he declared. "The person you want to speak with must be the double I have who is roaming through the city."  
  
"You ain't got no double," the man retorted. "Just be sure to show up." Before Marik or the others could say anything more, he had vanished down a nearby alley.  
  
"Come back here!!" Marik fumed, but it was no use.  
  
"I do not like the looks of this," Ishizu said quietly. "We must move quickly to determine the true culprits behind this plot."  
  
Rishid, immensely worried about the boy's safety, agreed.  
  
****  
  
Yugi, his Yami, and Bakura, meanwhile, were also on their way back to the ship, where they had planned beforehand to meet the others.  
  
"It looks like a fog's coming in," Yugi remarked, trying to see through the thickening clouds of mist in his way.  
  
"San Francisco is known for its fogs," Bakura remarked, glancing around. "I believe the docks are over that way," he said, pointing ahead.  
  
Suddenly there was a brilliant flash of light and Yami Bakura appeared, looking ruffled. "You idiot," he muttered. "The docks are over this way." He gestured toward the right, and the others turned to see.  
  
"That doesn't sound correct," Yami Yugi said, narrowing his eyes.  
  
Yugi blinked worriedly. "Uh oh," he said now. "I think we might be lost!"  
  
Yami Bakura growled something in Egyptian and then pulled out the Millennium Ring. "If you imbeciles truly are lost, the Ring can point you in the proper direction," he declared. The Ring's spindles glowed brightly, pointing to the left.  
  
"Well," Bakura chuckled, "it appears that we were all wrong."  
  
Yami Bakura growled and muttered something under his breath before gesturing to the others to follow him.  
  
****  
  
"Kaiba," Tea exclaimed, "I think someone's been following us!"  
  
Seto grunted. He had reached the same conclusion several blocks ago. "Just don't let on that you see him," he cautioned.  
  
Mokuba glanced back to look at the man curiously. He had dark hair and long bangs and in some odd way seemed to resemble Seto. The young boy quickly looked away again, his heart pounding. Could that be Seth, only with black, longer hair? "Seto!" Mokuba whispered urgently. "I think we're in big trouble!"  
  
Seto glanced back himself and found, to his irritation, that the man had vanished.  
  
"Was it Seth, big brother?" Mokuba cried in horror.  
  
Tea gasped, alarmed by that thought.  
  
Seto paused, mulling that over in his mind. "I don't know, kid," he said at last. "But if it was him, he must've had some kind of a makeover," he added wryly.  
  
****  
  
"Man, this case is freaky!" Joey cried as he, Tristan, and Mako wandered past an aquarium housing two enormous whales.  
  
"Aren't they always?" Tristan retorted as they tried to weave their way past a huge crowd that was gathering.  
  
"How many have you solved now?" Mako asked distractedly, his mind on the whales—and on entirely something else as well.  
  
Joey was about to reply when he felt himself being heaved up and thrown headfirst into the aquarium! He splashed about in a daze, yelling for someone to get him out. Before long Mako heard the other boy's pleas and dived into the water to rescue him.  
  
When they were both on dry land again, Mako and Tristan both gave Joey reproving looks.  
  
"Man, Joey, what were you thinking?!" Tristan cried.  
  
"You should not have leaned so far over the edge," Mako added.  
  
"What?!" Joey burst out, wringing his shirt. "That was no accident!"  
  
"What do you mean?" Mako asked suspiciously.  
  
"I was pushed!!" Joey sputtered. "Someone pushed me in!!" 


	3. Ghostly Stalker

Tristan and Mako could only stare in complete shock.  
  
"Pushed?!" Mako burst out at last. "Who would be pushing you?!"  
  
"Probably someone against us solvin' this mystery," Tristan replied for Joey in frustration. "There's a lot of those, you know—especially if they're the bad guys."  
  
"Yeah, and they pushed me as some freaky kind of warning!" Joey added indignantly.  
  
By now the crowd had started to gather around them, and Joey asked if anyone had seen him being pushed. Much to his annoyance, however, no one had—nor had they seen anyone suspicious running away from the scene.  
  
"They are clever," Mako remarked. "Whoever they are, they are clever."  
  
"Man, why can't we ever run into any stupid criminals?" Tristan exclaimed, still frustrated.  
  
****  
  
By the time Marik, Ishizu, and Rishid returned to the ship, two other people had "recognized" the boy and threatened him, much to his annoyance and Ishizu's and Rishid's worry.  
  
Marik was worried himself, but not for his own welfare. "Both of you may be in danger," he said, looking up at those whom he held most dear.  
  
"Brother, you are in more danger than we are," Ishizu replied softly.  
  
As the trio walked down the corridor, they spotted Captain Hardy talking angrily with a man in a business suit. Both of them looked up then and the man pointed irately at Marik. "That's him!" he cried. "That's the boy!"  
  
Marik looked indignant. "Speak to me, not around me!" he reprimanded. "I am not deaf!" He crossed his arms. "Now, what is it *you* think I have done?!"  
  
Captain Hardy sighed. "I'm afraid that this gentleman insists that you plundered a museum in Oakland," he said, "but I've been trying to tell him that you couldn't have."  
  
The man held out a badge coldly. "I'm Detective Pete Wilson," he introduced.  
  
"And I am Marik Ishtar," the boy said firmly, stepping forward. "I am an honorable person! I did not steal whatever it was you think I did." He and the others then tried to explain about the double, whereupon the man pulled out a composite sketch someone had drawn of the burglar.  
  
"He even has these same scars under his eyes as you do," Wilson pointed out.  
  
"Were you not listening?" Rishid said angrily. "My brother has a double!"  
  
Ishizu took the sketch and they all studied it. "True, he bears a resemblance to my brother, but could you say without a doubt that it was him?" She handed the sketch back to Wilson and waited patiently for an answer.  
  
Wilson looked away, uncomfortable under the Egyptian woman's piercing gaze. "No," he said at last, "no, of course I could not."  
  
"Then my brother is innocent," Ishizu said smoothly. "He is innocent until proven guilty."  
  
****  
  
Tea looked back nervously, trying to see any sign of the man who had been following them, but still he was nowhere in sight.  
  
"Where could he have gone?!" she cried in frustration.  
  
Seto glanced around, his eyes narrowed. He could still feel someone's eyes on him, but by all appearances they seemed to be entirely alone. He knew, however, that that didn't mean someone else wasn't there. "We should go someplace where there's lots of people," he muttered.  
  
"There's a shopping center over there, big brother," Mokuba announced, pointing ahead.  
  
"Good," Seto said, walking on determinedly.  
  
Tea hurried to keep up with the two brothers, definitely not relishing the thought of meeting their pursuer while they were all by themselves.  
  
****  
  
The ancient spirit watched the trio with a smirk, knowing that they could no longer see him.  
  
"Hello, brother."  
  
The spirit looked up in annoyance. "What are you doing here?!" he demanded, seeing a younger—but still ancient—entity looking down at him.  
  
"Watching you, of course," the younger phantom replied, floating down to stand on the ground. "But I don't quite see the point of following these fools around."  
  
"You wouldn't." The older spirit grunted and poked his finger against the other's bare chest. "Between the two of us, I was always the smarter one."  
  
"Oh really?" the blue-eyed apparition smirked at his brother. "Then why were you killed before I was?"  
  
The dark-haired spectre turned away, muttering something in his native tongue and looking extremely put out. At last he looked up, steely-eyed. "You were only luckier. Nothing more."  
  
His younger brother laughed. "Luckier . . . or perhaps smarter."  
  
"Your taunting will not have its desired effect," the elder spirit replied stonily. "Now leave me be." With that he walked off down the street again, leaving his brother smirking on the sidewalk.  
  
****  
  
Marik rushed into his room, followed by Rishid and Ishizu, and went to get the Millennium Rod from where he was keeping it. Generally he didn't carry the blasted thing around with him anymore because of the bad memories it brought back, but now he lifted it up and turned it around, dreading what he was about to do.  
  
::Yami?:: he called through their mental bond. ::Yami, are you there?::  
  
There was a long silence and Marik became uneasy, fearing that the spirit truly wasn't around and was instead out causing trouble. Or perhaps . . . he wasn't even in the Rod at all. The thought crossed Marik's mind that instead the treacherous creature was actually in the Shadow Realm—the Rod only being the means by which he was sent.  
  
(( You insolent cur, )) came the reply at last. (( What business is it of yours whether I am here or not? ))  
  
Marik took a deep breath. :: Someone who looks like me has been going around causing trouble throughout the city, and I thought it might have been you,:: he admitted.  
  
Yami Marik sneered, though Marik couldn't see it. (( Though I would greatly enjoy causing destruction, it wasn't me. )) With that he broke off the connection abruptly, leaving Marik frustrated and no less puzzled.  
  
"He says it wasn't him," the boy reported to Rishid and Ishizu with a sigh.  
  
"Do you believe him, brother?" Ishizu asked.  
  
Marik shrugged helplessly. "I don't know what to believe," he muttered. "I wish I could see for myself exactly what that burglar looks like."  
  
****  
  
In the meantime, Yugi, Bakura, and their Yamis were still heading for the ship as they tried to see through the murky fog.  
  
"This is ridiculous!" Yami Yugi cried. "There was never this problem back in Egypt!"  
  
Bakura was about to reply when someone suddenly crashed into his Yami from behind, starting a domino effect that landed everyone on the ground.  
  
"You're sure in a hurry," Yugi commented dazedly while Yami Bakura made Egyptian curses.  
  
Without a word, the figure picked himself up and ran off, his blonde hair streaming out after him.  
  
"Oh my," Bakura remarked, "that looked like Marik!"  
  
"You're right," Yami Yugi said grimly. "Perhaps it was his double."  
  
"Then let's go track him down!" Yugi cried determinedly as he jumped up, and Bakura and Yami Yugi stood up to go with him.  
  
Yami Bakura had no desire to accompany them, but since Bakura was going he felt he had no choice. Growling angrily, the tomb robber stood up as well and reluctantly followed.  
  
****  
  
Joey, Tristan, and Mako were just leaving the aquarium when they, too, were suddenly accosted by the suspicious character. He bowled past, knocking all three of them off-balance.  
  
"Hey!!" Joey yelled, grabbing the other boy's arm before he could disappear from sight, "watch it, you jerk!!"  
  
"Let . . . me . . . go!" their assailant hissed, struggling wildly.  
  
"Marik?!" Joey cried in disbelief, hearing the familiar voice.  
  
The other boy pulled free, not answering Joey's question. "Stay out of my way or your doom is sealed," he warned.  
  
"WHAT?!" Joey yelled indignantly. He lunged in for the attack but was held back by Tristan and Mako.  
  
"Cool down, man," Tristan said in frustration.  
  
"He just threatened me!" Joey retorted.  
  
"But you know he is not the real Marik," Mako replied. "This is not worth getting angry over!"  
  
"And if that was Marik's double," Tristan said now, "we should probably follow him and see what he's up to!"  
  
"Man, he skipped the joint ages ago!" Joey shot back, still steamed at the whole incident—and at the fact that the creep had just eluded them.  
  
"But he did leave this." Mako held up a golden earring which was very unlike the real Marik's favorite pair.  
  
The two other boys stared at it. "Man, that thing's freaky-looking!" Joey cried. The earring was in the image of a long, spread-out cobra with deadly fangs and a forked tongue.  
  
"This," Tristan declared with a grin, "is not only a very interesting clue, but it may help us catch this guy." He paused for effect. "Maybe he'll figure out that we must have his earring and come after us to get it back."  
  
"Bring him on!" Joey growled, slamming his fist into his palm.  
  
****  
  
As Seto, Tea, and Mokuba reached the shopping mall, they soon got caught up in the crowds and hoped that they had lost and confused their pursuer. However, since Seto hadn't been able to see the man who was after him for some time now, he couldn't be certain that they were truly safe yet.  
  
"This is ridiculous!" Tea cried, tugging to free her purse from where it had become entangled around a doorknob.  
  
"You said it!" Mokuba agreed emphatically. "Marik's being mistaken for a thief while we're being shadowed by some weird guy who looks like he could be an evil ancient Egyptian high priest! That goes past ridiculous—it's just plain bizarre!"  
  
Seto seemed almost not to hear them. He glanced about furtively as they came to a bit of a clearing in the crowd, looking for any sign of their stalker. "Let's get behind here," he directed, shepherding the others to a thick pillar. "We'll wait and watch to see if our mysterious pursuer makes an appearance."  
  
"I can't help but hope he won't, especially if he *is* Seth," Tea muttered.  
  
The dark-haired spirit who had been following them now watched as they hid behind the pillar. "Fools," he declared, still invisible and mute to mortal eyes and ears. "I am not Seth. He is the least of your worries now!"  
  
****  
  
Yugi and the others chased after Marik's double for what seemed like ages, but it seemed completely vain in the thick fog.  
  
"It's no use!" Bakura cried after thirty minutes of their wild goose chase. "I'm afraid all we're doing is getting further and further away from the ship!"  
  
"Actually," Yami Yugi said, glancing about, "I think we may be quite close to it." He pointed ahead to what seemed to be the docks.  
  
Suddenly Yami Bakura narrowed his eyes suspiciously, apparently hearing something odd. "Someone's running away," he muttered. "The blasted sound seems to be coming from over there at that wharf."  
  
"Hello?" Yugi called as loud as he could. "Can anyone hear me? Who's here?!"  
  
The sound of the footsteps only grew louder and more pronounced, and then suddenly a horrific KA-BOOM rocked the ground the group was standing on.  
  
"Something just blew up!" Yugi cried in horror.  
  
"Great Scott!" Bakura exclaimed, his eyes wide, "what if it was the ship?!" 


	4. Double Double Trouble

Notes: To Yami's Tenshi: Thanx for your concern! ^^ That meant a lot :) I'm doing fine, but I have a whole bunch of fanfics I'm working on right now, so I don't get to work on this mystery fic as much as I'd like ^_~ Hehehe  
  
  
  
Yugi gasped in utter alarm. "Come on!" he ordered, running ahead frantically. "We've gotta make sure everyone's okay!"  
  
Quickly Yami Yugi and Bakura followed suit and, with much muttering, Yami Bakura trailed after them, his silvery hair flying out in the increasing breeze wafting off the shores of the Pacific Ocean.  
  
As the group finally tore through the fog and came upon the cruise ship, they were all immensely relieved to find it still intact. Marik was leaning over the railing, watching them in confusion.  
  
"Where are you all going?" he asked.  
  
"Marik!" Yugi exclaimed. "Didn't you hear that big explosion?!"  
  
The Egyptian boy blinked. "No," he said with a shake of his head. "I never heard a thing."  
  
Bakura's mouth dropped open. "But it was so loud!" he cried. "How could anyone not hear it?!"  
  
Yami Bakura shook his head in annoyance. "The boy is obviously deaf." He turned to head up the gangplank.  
  
"We still must discover the source of that explosion," Yami Yugi said, his violet eyes narrowed.  
  
"That's right!" Yugi exclaimed. "Someone might be hurt!"  
  
Yami Bakura snorted. "Then by all means, go," he snapped, obviously not intending to go with them.  
  
"Look over there!" Bakura burst out suddenly. "That building is on fire!!"  
  
Marik perked up. "I'll come with you," he declared, hurrying down the ramp and over to them. Yugi noticed in surprise that the other boy wasn't wearing his trademark earrings, but he decided not to make any comment on that at the moment.  
  
"Let's go then!" Yugi cried, running off down the dock.  
  
"Yugi, wait!" Yami Yugi yelled, chasing after him.  
  
Yami Bakura watched in irritation as Bakura dashed off as well, Marik closely following. "Come back here, you dolt!" the thief screamed. "You can't go wandering off into some absurd, fiery inferno!"  
  
"You're welcome to come if you like, Yami!" Bakura replied, not slowing down a bit.  
  
With an angry curse, the tomb raider vanished into the Ring around Bakura's neck, deciding to go along in case of disasters. He didn't care what happened to Yugi and his Yami, of course, but he was protective of Bakura, and besides, he needed to keep an eye on the Millennium Puzzle.  
****  
When the foursome arrived at the warehouse, almost five minutes had passed.  
  
"Hello!" Yugi called frantically, coming up next to the door, "is anyone in there?!"  
  
At first there was no reply, but then they all heard coughing from the other side of the slab of wood.  
  
"Yeah!" a girl's voice screamed. "I'm trapped in here! The door won't open and there was a big explosion in the back of the warehouse!!"  
  
"Oh my!" Bakura cried. "Hang on, we'll get you out!"  
  
Instantly all four of them slammed into the door hard, willing it to splinter open.  
  
"I think it moved," Marik yelled over the noise of the crackling embers.  
  
"Once more!" Yami Yugi directed, and they all crashed into the wood again. This time it tore free, sending all of them to the floor in a heap.  
  
"Whoa, crash landing," the girl remarked, seeing them all fall in. Now that she knew there was a safe way out, she let her natural wit shine through.  
  
Yugi looked up at her and struggled to climb out from under the pile of bodies. "Are you okay?" he asked worriedly.  
  
"Tch. I am now," the girl replied, hurrying to the doorway. "Thanks to you guys!" She smiled and then waited for them to get untangled and follow her out.  
  
When they were all safely on hard ground again and the fire department was putting out the blaze, everyone turned to study the girl curiously. She didn't look any older than eleven; what on earth would she be doing all the way out here?!  
  
"Now," Marik said, crossing his bare arms, "would you care to explain yourself, child?"  
  
"I'm not a child!" the girl cried defensively, but then sighed. "And I was chasing a really suspicious-looking guy. He led me in there and then set off that bomb!" She gestured wildly with her hands.  
  
"Why were you chasing him?" Yugi asked, horror evident in his eyes. "You could've been hurt seriously!"  
  
"Or worse," Yami Yugi chimed in.  
  
The girl crossed her arms in irritation. "Yeah, yeah, I know. Chasing bad guys should be left to the 'proper authorities,'" she said wearily. "But there weren't any around, and I was trying to stop that guy from getting away with those artifacts!"  
  
Everyone perked up. "What kinds of artifacts?" Yugi asked.  
  
The girl shrugged. "I think they were from Egypt," she replied, "or at least most of them were. A couple were from China."  
  
"More Ming vases?" Marik mused aloud.  
  
"I guess they coulda been," said the girl. "But now that guy could be miles away!"  
  
"Or else he wound up perishing in the fire," Marik remarked, "though that is quite unlikely. He probably escaped through a back door."  
  
Bakura was worrying and wondering if the man had known he was being shadowed by a child. Surely if he had, he couldn't have been so treacherous and abominable as to set off that bomb! he thought to himself.  
  
Aloud he said, "Are you certain it was the man you were chasing who set off the bomb?" He knew that there was another possibility.  
  
The girl blinked. "Well, yeah. He ran into the back and that was when he tried to toast the place!"  
  
"What if," Yami Yugi suggested, catching on to what Bakura was getting at, "that man had someone else after him besides you, and it was this second man who set off the bomb in order to attempt eliminating the man you were chasing?"  
  
"Whoa, you mean there might be some kinda conspiracy going on?" the girl exclaimed, her eyes wide. "Cool!"  
  
"Very uncool, I'm afraid," Marik sighed.  
****  
Seto, Tea, and Mokuba had only been hiding behind the pillar for a few minutes when Mai Valentine turned up again.  
  
"Hey you guys," the blonde girl said, blinking at them. "What on earth do you think you're doing?"  
  
"Trying to catch some weirdo who's been following us!" Mokuba replied.  
  
"Really? You guys have been followed?" Mai looked surprised at first, then shook her head. "You just can't get a moment's peace, can you?"  
  
"It doesn't look like it," Tea sighed.  
  
"Well, what does this person look like?" Mai wanted to know.  
  
Seto emotionlessly described their stalker, all the while keeping an eye out in case he made a sudden appearance.  
  
"He looked a lot like Seth," Mokuba spoke up with a shudder.  
  
Mai crossed her arms. "I never met this Seth person," she remarked.  
  
"Be glad," Tea said, heaving a sigh.  
  
"I doubt that he'll show up," Seto said now, narrowing his eyes. "I'm certain he knows by now that we're on to him."  
  
"Well, then you might as well come out into the open," Mai replied with a shrug. "Everyone's turning to look over here. They probably think I'm carrying on a conversation with this piece of marble."  
  
Wordlessly the trio emerged from their hiding place, glancing around at the crowds.  
  
"Where are we now, anyway?" Tea wondered. "I've gotten all turned around."  
  
"We're over near Chinatown," Mai replied, jerking her thumb over her shoulder. "It's over there."  
  
"I wish we could figure out what to do next," Tea sighed as everyone began walking again.  
  
"We should try to find out more about this case," Mokuba spoke up. "Maybe we could go to the library and check out the recent newspapers. They might have articles on the burglaries and stuff."  
  
"Not a bad idea, kid," Seto smiled, ruffling the younger boy's hair. "It's worth a try."  
****  
Meanwhile, Joey, Tristan, and Mako finally made it back to the ship and found Marik in the dining room, staring off into space.  
  
"Hey buddy," Tristan greeted. Joey, he noticed, stayed silent, and the hazel-eyed boy was sure that it was due to the earlier incident.  
  
"Hello," Marik replied, snapping back to Earth.  
  
"We had a strange experience a while ago," Mako reported. "We met your double out in the fog."  
  
Marik perked up immensely. "You did?" he exclaimed.  
  
"That's right," Joey said, now speaking up. "And the jerk threatened me!"  
  
Marik was disturbed. "You knew it wasn't me, didn't you?" he wanted to know.  
  
"Hey, of course we did," Tristan replied before Joey could. "And look at this freaky thing he was wearing!" With that he dropped the odd earring into Marik's hands and the boy stared at it curiously.  
  
"Have you ever seen anything like it?" Joey demanded.  
  
"I never have," Marik said, shaking his head. His own earrings clinked softly with the motion.  
****  
"So now tell me, Mako—why in the name of Heaven would someone tell you that I could help you on your quest, and what exactly is your quest?"  
  
Marik and Mako were out on the deck, watching Joey and Tristan playing table top tennis.  
  
Mako looked at his new friend very seriously. "I am searching for my father," he explained, and began telling Marik of that fateful storm that had separated them. "I know he escaped, because the lifeboat was gone," the dark-haired boy said.  
  
He also told Marik about the Legendary Fisherman card that he had been sent anonymously. "I believe it was my father who sent it to me," he said now.  
  
"If it was your father, why didn't he explain where he was?" Marik asked.  
  
"I don't know," Mako sighed, shaking his head. "Perhaps he is in some sort of predicament and can't reveal his location."  
  
"But you think I can tell you where that location is?" Marik said incredulously.  
  
"You may have some sort of clue," Mako replied. "Perhaps you know someone who knows where my father is, or maybe you even knew my father at some point."  
  
Marik stared at the other boy. "Do you resemble him?" he wanted to know.  
  
"I have been told that," Mako answered.  
  
"Then I am certain I have never met him personally," Marik said.  
****  
"Here's something about the burglaries," Tea reported, holding up the previous day's news. "It says that several Egyptian archaeological finds were stolen from an antique store in Chinatown!"  
  
Mai blinked. "What were archaeological finds doing at an antique shop?"  
  
Tea scanned over the article again. "I'm not sure," she admitted. "It doesn't say why. But it does say that the items weren't for sale in the shop."  
  
"Oh wow!" Mokuba cried. "Look at this!" He pointed to the next page, and everyone turned to see what had startled him.  
  
It was a picture taken in Golden Gate Park during a community picnic. Leaning against a nearby tree and watching was someone who looked strikingly like Yami Yugi! 


	5. Karaoke Night

Mai was the first to break the ensuing silence. "Isn't that Yugi's Yami?" she exclaimed.  
  
"It sure looks like him," Tea replied, "but it couldn't be him! We hadn't even docked in San Francisco yesterday! He would have been on the boat with all of us!"  
  
"This is crazy!" Mokuba burst out. "That means that now there's two doubles running loose! How are we gonna catch them?!"  
  
"There's another possibility," Seto said slowly, not answering his younger's brother question.  
  
All eyes turned to stare at the brown-haired boy.  
  
"And what possibility is that?" Mai wanted to know.  
  
"The person we're after could be a master of disguise," Seto stated, crossing his arms. "If he was enough of an expert, he could imitate both Yami Yugi and Marik."  
  
Mai blinked. "But hardly anyone would be that skilled . . . would they?" she demanded. "Yami Yugi and Marik don't look or sound a bit alike!"  
  
"With the proper makeup and wigs—and voice tricks—a trained professional actor could pull it off," Seto replied.  
  
"But why would someone want to?!" Tea cried, throwing her hands up in the air.  
  
Seto only grunted. He had no clue himself, but with all of their strange cases, nothing sounded impossible anymore.  
****  
Yami Yugi gave the girl a stern look. "What is your name?" he asked, realizing that they had never been introduced.  
  
"The name's Jade," she replied casually. "And you guys are . . .?"  
  
One by one the others gave their names as well.  
  
"And where are your parents, Jade?" Yami Yugi wanted to know.  
  
"Oh, they're in Hong Kong," the dark-haired girl answered. "I'm staying with my uncle."  
  
"Well, then where is your uncle?" Marik demanded.  
  
"Chasing bad guys," was the reply. "And . . . whoa! Total creep at twelve o'clock!" Jade pointed ahead to where a sinister-looking man was disappearing around a corner, heading for a dockside pizza diner. "That's the guy from the warehouse!"  
  
Instantly everyone became alert.  
  
"Let's go after him and find out what he was doing!" Yugi cried.  
  
"I'm already on it!" Jade called, dashing off.  
  
"Jade, wait!!" Bakura exclaimed, but in vain.  
  
Marik muttered something in either Egyptian or Arabic before running off as well. Quickly Yugi, his Yami, and Bakura all followed suit, heading for the nearby diner.  
  
When they burst through the doors, they found one very crowded room. Most people were seated at the booths and counter, but others were standing about and even dancing to the beat as they were entertained by a singer on a stage up front.  
  
"It's karaoke night," Bakura realized, "and it seems to be standing room only! How will we ever find that man in here?!"  
  
"Hey, don't panic," Jade said casually, disappearing into the crowd. "He can't have gone far!"  
  
"Come back!" Yugi cried, hurrying after her.  
  
With a flash of light, Yami Bakura emerged from the Ring and greedily grabbed a piece of pizza off the counter. He definitely found all mortals to be fools, but he did enjoy the food they made.  
  
"Yami!!" Bakura scolded, seeing what his friend had just done.  
  
The thief only sneered at him and pushed past the crowds to a back table. Marik, after glancing about, followed him—a jug of chocolate milk in hand. He knew exactly what he wanted, and exactly how he would find it out.  
****  
Joey, meanwhile, was having an encounter with Rex Raptor.  
  
"Man, what the heck's going on with you lately?!" the long-haired boy burst out, coming onto the deck between tennis games. "How come you never told me you were loaded?!"  
  
"Whaddya mean?!" Joey demanded, utterly baffled.  
  
In reply Rex shoved a newspaper at him and pointed to a picture. "This!"  
  
Joey stared. "What the . . ." He found himself gazing at a likeness of a too-familiar blonde boy with a triumphant grin. "That's me!"  
  
"How observant," Rex said sarcastically. "This was taken at the Millionaire's Ball a month or so ago. Everyone's been wondering who the mystery millionaire was who showed up and began asking them all weird questions!" His eyes narrowed as he looked at Joey. "Now it looks like the mystery has been revealed!"  
  
"That's crazy!" Joey shot back. "Hey, I'd love to get rich just like everyone would, but I'm sure no millionaire!" Of course he *had* had the three million dollars after Duelist Kingdom—which seemed so very long ago now—but he had only wanted that money to pay for his sister's operation. "And I sure as heck didn't go to any ball!" he continued now. "Man, I hate tuxedos!"  
  
Rex rolled up the newspaper and stuck it back in his pocket. "Don't tell me you've got an impersonator just like that Egyptian guy does!" he cried in disbelief.  
  
Joey shook his head and cracked his knuckles. "Well, if I do, they're gonna be sorry they ever tried to pretend to be me!" he vowed.  
****  
Yami Bakura leaned back in the chair, drinking from the bottle of chocolate milk greedily. He then laughed raucously before suddenly sobering again. "I loved that woman," he said quietly.  
  
Marik looked frustrated. He had doctored the milk in the hopes that it would loosen the thief's tongue about the powers he wanted and how to get them—but instead Yami Bakura was revealing his innermost secrets and feelings.  
  
"I always loved her," the silvery-haired Egyptian went on. "I never betrayed her, as she always thought."  
  
"Yes, yes," Marik said impatiently. "But what about the staff of Khu?!"  
  
"Khu?" Yami Bakura repeated vaguely, taking another swig from the bottle. "He beat me within an inch of my life when I refused to join his zealot band."  
  
"Don't you have anything else to talk about?!" Marik cried, beginning to realize that his plan had completely backfired.  
  
Yami Bakura grunted and hiccuped. "Bakura is such an innocent fool," he said in a slurred voice.  
  
"This is getting me nowhere!!" Marik screamed, messing his hair up.  
  
Yami Bakura cackled and fell out of his chair, then slowly pulled himself up and stared at the stage. "Ah, they are singing," he commented obviously, and proceed to stagger up and snatch the microphone away from the performer.  
  
"Hey!" the man yelled indignantly.  
  
"My turn," Yami Bakura announced.  
  
Marik slapped his forehead in frustration, then quickly arose to hide the incriminating chocolate milk. That idiot wouldn't remember what had happened for a while, but once he was sober again he most likely would put two and two together and figure it all out.  
****  
Bakura, searching through the back room for the suspicious man, was suddenly stopped dead in his tracks by a familiar off-key voice belting Don't Be Cruel. "Oh my!" the boy gasped.  
  
"Is that your Yami, Bakura?" Yugi exclaimed.  
  
"I'm afraid so!" the British boy replied, dashing back into the main room and seeing Yami Bakura stumbling across the stage while the audience booed him loudly.  
  
"'Don't be cruel to a *hic* heart that's true . . .'"  
  
Bakura ran onto the stage and grabbed for the thief just before he would have fallen off the edge into the crowd below. "Yami!!" the boy cried. "You're drunk!!"  
  
Yami Bakura turned to look at him with glazed eyes. "That's absurd," he slurred. "I don't drink, so how in the name of Heaven could I wind up drunk?" He gave a raucous laugh and slumped against the boy, still clutching the microphone. Everything they said was being broadcast around the room.  
  
"Oh, Yami, please give me the microphone!" Bakura begged, reaching for it.  
  
The thief jerked it away from him. "No!" he said defensively. "My number isn't over yet!"  
  
"Yes it is!" an angry man in the back yelled.  
  
Bakura turned beet red, embarrassed for both his Yami and himself. "Please come down, Yami!" he cried, gently pulling on the ancient tomb raider's arm. "You're terribly drunk!"  
  
"I'm not idiot, you drunk!" Yami Bakura replied, mixing up his words. To Bakura's horror, he suddenly pitched forward off the stage, taking Bakura with him. They crashed into a table, knocked it over, and both wound up on the floor themselves.  
  
Bakura lay dazed for several minutes until suddenly he felt a worried hand on his shoulder. "Bakura, are you alright?!" Yugi exclaimed.  
  
The silvery-haired boy nodded shakily. "I . . . I'm fine," he stammered, "but somehow my Yami got drunk!"  
  
Yugi blinked. "How would that happen?!" he gasped. "They don't even have alcohol at this diner!"  
  
Bakura shook his head, helping his Yami stand up. "I have no idea how it happened," he sighed, turning to look at the old thief. "Yami, what were you doing right before you got onstage?" he asked.  
  
Yami Bakura blinked his brown eyes at him, apparently not understanding the question. "You know," he said instead and hiccuped, "I never realized Marik was *hic* still interested in power."  
  
"What?!" Yami Yugi cried as he approached.  
  
Suddenly Jade appeared from in the back room, looking put out. "That creepy guy escaped out the window and disappeared!" she exclaimed, and was about to say more when she saw Yami Bakura beginning a new song. "Whoa," she said with a blink.  
  
"What is this about Marik still being interested in power?" Yami Yugi demanded.  
  
Yami Bakura just stared at him blankly. "Why don't you tell me?" he returned, bursting into laughter again.  
  
"Oh dear," Bakura exclaimed. "I must get him back to the cruise ship immediately!"  
  
"You'll definitely need some help," Yugi declared.  
  
Yami Yugi nodded slowly. "You two take him back. I'll look for Marik and then walk Jade to her home."  
  
This plan was quickly agreed to and the group split up.  
****  
In the meantime, Seto, Tea, Mokuba, and Mai had all left the library—after Xeroxing the picture of Yami Yugi's double—and had finally made it back to the ship. Marik, standing on the deck with Mako, Joey, and Tristan, greeted them as they approached.  
  
"You look exhausted," the Egyptian boy commented. "Exhausted and confused."  
  
"We're definitely that," Mai sighed. "I'm not sure you guys have ever had such an odd mystery to figure out!"  
  
Marik chuckled and leaned against the wall, crossing his bare arms. "Each one seems to be stranger than the last," he remarked.  
  
"Man, ain't it the truth," Joey said, shaking his head. "But now, hey, what did happen to you guys?!" he wanted to know.  
  
"Tea can tell you," Seto replied shortly, heading below deck.  
  
"Well, he's in his usual good mood, I see," Tristan remarked.  
****  
Rex wandered down the long halls, staring at the newspaper story again. "That's just too weird," he commented to himself. "To think that Joey would have a millionaire double! Why are all these doubles turning up anyway?! Man, nothing makes sense!"  
  
As he turned the corner and began to head down a more isolated part of the ship, a strong arm suddenly reached out and grabbed him around the neck.  
  
"Hey!!" he cried, struggling fiercely. "What do you think you're doing?!"  
  
"I think I'm giving you a warning you won't forget," the voice hissed. "Forget everything about Wheeler's double if you ever want to see the light of another day." With that the shadowy figure pressed hard against the pressure point on the boy's neck until he passed into unconsciousness. Muttering to himself, the man left Rex laying on the floor and slipped back into the shadows once more. 


	6. Overboard!

When Bakura and Yugi finally managed to drag Yami Bakura onto the ship, the old thief hadn't seemed to have sobered up at all. If anything, he was even more sloshed than when they had started out.  
  
"Where is Kythiopia?" he asked, looking up at Bakura.  
  
The boy blinked, utterly confused. "'Kythiopia,' Yami?" he repeated. "I . . . I'm afraid I don't know at all who she even is!"  
  
Yami Bakura hiccuped, leaning heavily against him. "Kythiopia is . . ." He trailed off, suddenly catching sight of Marik. "Oh look," he said stupidly, pointing at the Egyptian boy, "he's the one who gave me the chocolate milk."  
  
"Chocolate milk?!" Yugi exclaimed. "When was this?!"  
  
Yami Bakura started laughing hysterically. "At the *hic* diner," he replied amiably, stumbling over to the astonished Marik.  
  
"You look terrible!" the boy cried in disbelief.  
  
"What's goin' on here?!" Joey exclaimed, coming over from where he and Tristan had been finishing up another game of table-top tennis. Yami Bakura continued to cackle like a madman before abruptly collapsing over onto the deck, and Joey jumped back in shock. "Oh man, he's totally tipsy!" the Brooklyn boy burst out.  
  
Yugi looked at Marik. "Where did you go, anyway, Marik?" he asked. "Did you really give Yami Bakura chocolate milk?"  
  
Marik blinked at him. "I wasn't even there!" he protested. "I have no idea what you are talking about, but I do know that chocolate milk couldn't make him act like this!"  
  
"Unfortunately," Bakura said, kneeling down and hauling the tomb raider up again, "it very well could if it was doctored with secret ingredients."  
  
Marik looked angry. "You certainly don't think I would do such a thing!" he cried. "Your Yami has been my friend even during Battle City. He saved Rishid's life when my Yami was about to kill him! I certainly would not repay him by spiking his chocolate milk and purposely getting him drunk!"  
  
Yugi laid a hand on the taller boy's shoulder. "No, no, Marik! Of course we don't think you'd do it!" he reassured him, noticing that Marik's earrings had returned. "It would've had to have been your double."  
  
Marik looked immensely relieved. Apparently the events of the past still haunted him and he worried that his words wouldn't be trusted.  
  
Suddenly the ship gave a violent lurch as a loud rumble tore underneath it, sending everyone sprawling to the floor of the deck.  
  
"Oh my! What's happening?!" Bakura cried out, concerned that once again no one was steering the ocean liner.  
  
"It's an earthquake!" Yugi declared in horror. "And violent ocean waves!"  
  
****  
  
Mai was heading down the long corridors when the earthquake hit. She let out a startled yell as she was thrown against the wall and then wound up tripping over something on the floor.  
  
"Augh! What the . . ."  
  
Quickly she looked down and was shocked to see Rex Raptor's body. "Rex!" she cried in disbelief.  
  
The long-haired boy stirred and looked up angrily. "Hey! Watch where you're going!" he said indignantly.  
  
Mai was momentarily startled by Rex's return to life, but she quickly got over it. "Why don't *you* watch where you choose to take your naps!" she retorted angrily.  
  
"I wasn't taking a nap!" Rex yelled, rubbing at his neck as the ship jolted again. "What the heck was that?!" he burst out.  
  
"It's an approaching wave, you idiot!" Mai snapped.  
  
"Huh?" Rex slowly got to his feet and glanced about. Suddenly feeling dizzy, he started to fall backwards against Mai, who shoved him away in distaste.  
  
"What's wrong with you?!" the girl yelled in frustration.  
  
"Nothing!" Rex shot back furiously, not wanting to share his experience with the obnoxious Mai Valentine.  
  
"Then don't fall all over me!" Mai grumbled.  
  
****Ishizu, who was sitting in the dining room, suddenly sprang to her feet. "I have foreseen many grave disasters resulting from this oncoming earthquake!" she cried, heading for the door as the ship rocked wildly.  
  
Rishid was immensely concerned as well. "Where is Master Marik?" he worried. "If he is still on the deck he is in much danger!" He loved the boy so very dearly and didn't want anything to happen to him. Though he called him "master," it was really only a bad habit he could not break. Marik was a brother.  
  
And Marik *was* still on deck, as a matter of fact—being violently shaken by a half-sober Yami Bakura.  
  
"Yami, stop it!" Bakura screamed in horror. "You're going to hurt him!!"  
  
"Why did you *hic* spike the chocolate milk?" the thief yelled angrily, ignoring Bakura's pleas.  
  
"I didn't!" Marik cried indignantly. "For Heaven's sake, it was my double!!!" He gripped at Yami Bakura's wrists, trying to pry the hands away.  
  
The ship lurched viciously, sending a huge wave over the deck and drenching everyone in sight.  
  
"Oh man!" Joey said in frustration, wringing out his T-shirt. "We aren't supposed to be up here!"  
  
Yugi nodded, trying to help Bakura pull his Yami away from the hapless Marik. "We need to get below deck—now!" the violet-eyed boy directed.  
  
Yami Bakura growled angrily and tightened his grip on Marik's throat. "How do I know you're not the *hic* double?!" he snapped. "Perhaps I'm *hic* surrounded by doubles!"  
  
"Yami, let him go!!" Bakura wailed, feeling helpless.  
  
Marik struggled to get free. "I didn't put alcohol in the milk!" he insisted. "You should know me better than that!"  
  
Yami Bakura snarled. "Do you expect *hic* me to believe your foolish tale? *Hic* You purposely got me intoxicated!"  
  
"No, Yami!" Bakura protested. "It wasn't him! Please stop it, Yami! He's not the criminal! You're hurting him, Yami! You're hurting him!!"  
  
Before the old thief could reply, another wave rose up—this one larger and more ferocious than the first—and again completely immersed the deck and its occupants in the water. When it finally subsided, both Yami Bakura and Marik had vanished and those who remained lay dazed on the deck.  
  
Finally Joey coughed and looked up. "Hey, where the heck did they go?!" he burst out.  
  
Yugi stirred as well and ran to look over the edge. "They must've been thrown overboard!" he cried. "But I don't see any sign of them!"  
  
Tristan also came to the railing to look, then stopped. "Hey, where's Bakura?" he exclaimed.  
  
Quickly everyone began a frantic search, which was brought to a swift halt when they found the innocent boy laying under an overturned deck chair.  
  
Joey was the first to find him, and he knelt down worriedly to look at the other boy more closely. "Bakura? Hey, pal, come on! Answer me!"  
  
Tristan approached then and pulled the chair away. "Oh man," he muttered, gently checking Bakura for serious injuries.  
  
"How is he?" Yugi asked worriedly as he ran up.  
  
"No broken bones," Tristan reported as he lifted Bakura's limp body into his arms. "But we should get him inside right away. This storm's only just beginning."  
  
At that moment, Ishizu and Rishid burst onto the deck from below.  
  
"Where is Marik?" Ishizu cried.  
  
Yugi stepped forward and looked up at her solemnly. "Ishizu, I . . . I don't know how to say this, but . . . I . . . I'm afraid he was washed overboard by that wave that just swept through," he admitted. "We can't find him anywhere."  
  
Ishizu's eyes went wide with horror and she and Rishid both ran to the edge to stare into the raging waters below.  
  
"Marik!!" Rishid screamed. "Brother, where are you? Are you hurt?!"  
  
There was no answer, and Ishizu clapped a hand to her heart. What if her brother was . . . what if he had . . . drowned?  
  
"Marik!" she called frantically. Her voice carried on the wind and the sea, but no reply was given.  
  
"He's not there," Yugi said softly. "We need to get Bakura below deck, and we'll tell Captain Hardy to call the Coast Guard to look for Marik . . . and for Yami Bakura too."  
  
Ishizu nodded shakily, staring again into the endless depths of the ocean.  
  
"You guys better come inside too," Tristan said softly, "or you might get swept overboard yourselves." The ship rocked violently again as another wave approached.  
  
"You are correct," Ishizu told him sadly, though her voice was also full of reluctance. "We will come in." She knew there was nothing they could do out here, but she could hardly bring herself to leave. The thought of Marik being swept away by the raging waters was almost more than she could bear.  
  
Rishid stared ahead, seeming to not hear a word. "Brother," he whispered, clutching at the railing. "Forgive me." A tear slipped down his cheek. "Please forgive me. I couldn't protect you."  
  
Silently Ishizu came over to him, laying her hand on his. Rishid leaned against her slightly when she did. They would find their younger brother alive. They had to!  
  
****  
  
Marik broke through to the surface , coughing and gasping. There was water all around him with no sign of the ship anywhere. He had been caught up in the vicious wave and apparently had been thrown far away from the ocean liner or any other civilization, he realized.  
  
"Is anyone here?!" he called as loud as he could. "I have been washed away from the ship I was on! Please help me!" His voice seemed to be drowned out by the crashing waves and he looked around in despair.  
  
Suddenly he heard a low moan from behind him. Had someone else been washed overboard with him? Quickly Marik turned around and found himself looking at a very sickly Yami Bakura. The old thief was draped unceremoniously over a drifting deck chair and was bleeding from a deep gash on his forehead.  
  
Worried and concerned, Marik swam across the short distance separating them and gently laid his hand on Yami Bakura's shoulder. "Are you alright?" the Egyptian boy cried.  
  
Yami Bakura didn't answer and instead moaned again, obviously not entirely with it. His eyes were open halfway but they were glazed over and unseeing.  
  
Marik's heart sank. Whatever would he do? He was lost in the middle of the ocean with an injured tomb raider and no one around to help.  
  
"Please send someone to rescue us," the boy prayed fervently.  
  
****  
  
The ship rocked dangerously as the teens hurried down the corridors and met up with Mai and Rex.  
  
"What happened?" Mai gasped, seeing Bakura's lifeless form.  
  
Quickly Yugi explained and then asked if Mai could inform the Captain so that the Coast Guard could be called in. "We'd do it, but we need to get Bakura to the infirmary to make sure he's okay," he said.  
  
Mai nodded. "Of course I'll do it," she agreed, glancing at Bakura in concern.  
  
"Thanks, Mai," Yugi smiled, and he and Tristan hurried off with the silvery-haired boy.  
  
Joey lingered behind for a moment, staring at Rex. "Man, what the heck happened to your neck?!" he demanded at last.  
  
Immediately Rex's hand flew to the red marks on his throat in an attempt to hide them. "Nothing!" he growled defensively.  
  
Mai smirked. "Maybe someone did what I've often wanted to," she remarked, "and tried to throttle him." Before either of the boys could reply, she was disappearing down the hall to find Captain Hardy.  
  
Rex clenched his fists. "Man, she burns me up!" he cried.  
  
Joey grinned. "Eh, she's not so bad." He turned to go as well. "Catch ya later."  
  
****  
  
When Joey reached the infirmary, Bakura had been looked at and was being carried back out by Tristan.  
  
"The doctor says he seems to be okay and that we can take him back to his room," Tristan reported before Joey could ask, "but to call her if he says anything weird when he wakes up."  
  
Joey nodded. "Well, he'll probably be asking for his Yami," he remarked.  
  
"I'm sure he will," Yugi agreed soberly.  
  
"Does Mokuba know yet about Marik?" Tristan wondered as they opened the door to Bakura's room and laid him on his bed.  
  
"I don't think so, unless Ishizu or Rishid told him," Yugi replied.  
  
"Man, I hope the guy's okay," Joey said softly. "Him, and—oh, what the heck—ol' Yami B too."  
  
Yugi nodded seriously and pulled the quilt up around Bakura's shoulders. "Me too, Joey," he said, looking out the porthole. "Me too."  
  
****  
  
Marik didn't know how long he had been in the water with Yami Bakura, but he did know that they were still in very real danger—another wave was rapidly approaching and there was no place to go for shelter.  
  
The boy looked down at his companion worriedly. Yami Bakura was still looking very lackluster and ill. If they got bombarded by another wave, there was no telling what that might do to him. They might both even wind up . . .  
  
"Ahoy there!"  
  
Marik looked up hopefully. "Mako?" he called, almost not daring to believe.  
  
"Yes, my friend." Mako pulled up alongside them in his fishing boat. "But what are you doing out in the middle of the ocean?"  
  
Hastily Marik explained, all the while trying to gently lift Yami Bakura up off the deck chair. "I'm afraid the whole experience was a bit too much for him," the Egyptian boy said, shaking his head.  
  
Concerned, Mako leaned over the edge and took hold of the thief, pulling him up into the boat. "It's a blessing that I found you when I did," the dark-haired boy said grimly. "I was heading for the shore when I had the feeling to come over here."  
  
Yami Bakura groaned as he was hauled up, his vision focusing a bit. "Unhand me, foolish mortal," he managed to say.  
  
Mako was unfazed. "As you wish," he said, dropping the tomb raider down on the floor of the boat.  
  
Now Marik swam over to the edge and pulled himself up. "Thank you," he said weakly, realizing now that he hadn't come through things completely unscathed either.  
  
"Think nothing of it," Mako replied with a smile. "But there's another wave approaching from over there." He pointed to the East, where a huge wave was, indeed, rising up. "It will be even more deadly than the previous ones. We must make haste to avoid it."  
  
He looked down at Yami Bakura. "While I get us back to shore, you had best try to get yourself and your friend warmed up," he told Marik now. "He is quite ill, I'm afraid."  
  
Marik nodded and reached for a couple of nearby blankets. After wrapping Yami Bakura in one, the blonde boy draped the other around himself, feeling the boat rock unsteadily underneath him. Before he quite knew what had happened, he was drifting into an unwanted sleep. 


	7. Dither

"Awake, my friend."  
  
Marik heard Mako's voice from far away and tried to gather the strength to open his eyes, but he couldn't seem to manage the task.  
  
Now the dark-haired boy knelt next to Marik and laid a hand on his shoulder. "We are almost at the shore," he said, "and the wave has missed us. A fortunate thing, too, since it was rising to a height of ninety feet." Mako chuckled, then looked at Marik with concern. "Your friend seems to be doing much better, but are *you* alright?" Inwardly he worried that the Egyptian boy was hurt more than either of them had realized.  
  
Marik stirred, shivering. "I . . . I am fine," he said at last, pulling the blanket closer around him. "I am simply unused to these freezing temperatures!"  
  
Mako nodded in understanding. "The two of you are sopping wet. I must get you both back to the ship immediately."  
  
Marik had no objections to that whatsoever.  
  
****  
  
Bakura stirred, his brown eyes fluttering open. "Oh . . ." he moaned, looking confused. "Where . . . where am I?"  
  
"You're in your room, buddy," Tristan said, relieved to see that his friend was awake.  
  
Bakura smiled weakly, then looked worried. "Where is Yami?" he asked. "I . . . I'm afraid he may have been thrown overboard, but I don't remember clearly what happened. . . ." He shook his head and then pressed his fingers against his left temple as if it hurt.  
  
"Yeah, man, you were beaned by that deck chair," Joey told him. He shrugged and spoke airily. "And I'm sure your Yami's okay. Heck, if he could survive the Grim Reaper attackin' him, he could survive falling into the water."  
  
Bakura had to chuckle at that, but he was still concerned. "What about Marik?" he worried. "Was he thrown overboard as well?"  
  
"Yes, he was," Yugi admitted slowly, "but he's a good swimmer." He smiled comfortingly. "The Coast Guard is out looking for both of them. They'll find them, Bakura. Don't worry."  
  
Bakura nodded slowly, his soft brown eyes still filled with concern. "I do hope so," he said softly.  
  
"Hey," Joey wondered suddenly, "where's Tea?"  
  
Yugi paused, thinking. "I'm not sure," he admitted. "I know she brought Mokuba below deck shortly after they got back, but I don't know if she's still with him or not."  
  
****  
  
As it turned out, she wasn't. Tea had taken Mokuba to his and Seto's room and then was planning to go topside and see if the others were back yet when the earthquake had hit.  
  
The ship rocked wildly and she screamed as she lost her balance, falling backward—but then she was caught by a dark-haired, stern-faced man.  
  
"Thank you," Tea said gratefully.  
  
The man grunted in an oddly-familiar way. "A dancer such as yourself should have better equilibrium," he growled.  
  
Tea pulled free and whirled to face him. "How did you know I'm a dancer?!" she demanded.  
  
"That's not important." The man turned away, his ponytail whipping around his neck. Before Tea could say more, he was gone.  
  
****  
  
Yami Yugi's eyes narrowed as he shielded Jade from a falling lamppost. They had just left the diner after unsuccessfully trying to find Marik, and the aftershocks were just beginning.  
  
"Hey," Jade said nonchalantly, "San Francisco is know for its earthquakes. This is nothing compared to what happens sometimes!"  
  
And then as soon as it had started, it was over.  
  
Now the former Pharaoh straightened up and looked about, struggling to see through the fog and dust. "How far are we from where you live, Jade?" he asked.  
  
Jade shrugged. "Not too far. But you don't need to walk me there. I can take care of myself."  
  
"With these earthquakes and the criminals running loose, I believe I should accompany you," Yami Yugi retorted.  
  
"Have it your way," Jade replied as they turned a corner.  
  
Suddenly a dark figure stepped into their path, holding his hand out for them to stop.  
  
"Let us pass," Yami Yugi said angrily.  
  
"Do not underestimate the dangers surrounding you." The figure stepped into the light, revealing the serious, sober Shadi.  
  
Yami Yugi's eyes narrowed. "I am not," he said.  
  
"Darkness lurks around every corner and in every niche," Shadi said grimly.  
  
"Wow, who is this guy?" Jade asked, intrigued.  
  
Shadi went right on as if he hadn't heard her. "You already know of Marik Ishtar's double. But beware—he is not the only person this man impersonates."  
  
"What?!" Yami Yugi clenched his fists.  
  
"He is an expert master of disguise. Be on your guard." Shadi's blue eyes narrowed.  
  
"Hey wait!" Jade called, seeing that Shadi was about to leave. "Who are you?!"  
  
"I am Shadi," the man replied, "and you would be wise to heed my warning as well, young one."  
  
"Why? What's gonna happen?" Jade asked with google-eyed interest, but Shadi had already vanished into thin air.  
  
Yami Yugi shook his head. "Things are obviously much more serious than I thought," he mused.  
  
"Where did that guy go?" Jade demanded. "He's cool!"  
  
"He's a master of ancient magic and defender of all that is good," Yami Yugi told her, "even though his methods are usually quite unorthodox. And that is all you need to know about him."  
  
"Awww!" Jade whined.  
  
****  
  
The boat rocked dangerously from side to side as the aftershocks on land brought about continuing waves in the water.  
  
"Hold on tight!" Mako warned. "I don't think we're going to outrun this one."  
  
Marik glanced down at Yami Bakura, who wasn't really looking any better than he had the last time Marik had seen him. Gently the boy laid his hand on the thief's shoulder to protect him from falling overboard. "You saved my brother's life once," the Egyptian boy said solemnly, "and now I shall return your good deed with another."  
  
Yami Bakura groaned and shuddered.  
  
"I thought you said he was doing better," Marik cried.  
  
"He is doing much better than he was during the time you were asleep," Mako replied. "I thought he might die."  
  
Marik smiled wryly. "I doubt that could happen." Inwardly he wondered what on earth *had* happened to make Yami Bakura so extremely ill.  
  
The boat rocked again and then a wave splashed over it and its occupants.  
  
Now Marik coughed, water shooting from his mouth. He brushed his wet bangs out of his eyes and looked about, trying to see how close they were to the shore.  
  
Mako looked grim. "Grab your friend. I'm afraid we're in for a wild ride."  
  
****  
  
"Wild ride" was an understatement. By the time the boat had been caught up by the angry wave and practically thrown onto the shore, Marik felt extremely shaken. Such a thing had never happened when he'd traveled on his yacht. It was probably a good thing that Yami Bakura was so out of it at the moment, the Egyptian boy thought wryly. The old thief would've felt much worse if he'd realized what they were going through at the moment.  
  
Mako, however, seemed used to such things. "We have arrived," he said, climbing out of the boat and then looking to Marik in concern. "Do you see the ocean liner anywhere near here?" he asked.  
  
Marik blinked, trying to see through the fog. "I believe it's over there," he said in relief, pointing to the right.  
  
Mako nodded. "I will take you and your friend over there. Can you walk?"  
  
"I can," Marik replied, standing up, "but my friend will need some assistance."  
  
Mako took Yami Bakura and slung the old thief over his shoulder. "Alright, then," he said. "Let's be off."  
  
****  
  
"Man, this is some crazy vacation," Joey remarked as he and Tristan went up to the deck again. The worst of the storm had passed by now, according to the Captain, and so they were going topside to look for their friends.  
  
"You said it," Tristan sighed, shaking his head.  
  
When they emerged onto the deck, they were a bit startled to find Ishizu, Rishid, Mokuba, Seto, and Bakura all there as well.  
  
"Bakura!" Tristan cried. "Man, you were supposed to stay resting!"  
  
Bakura looked at him with wide brown eyes. "I'm worried about Marik and my Yami," he replied. "I'll be alright."  
  
"Hello!" Mako's voice called suddenly.  
  
Everyone snapped to attention. Their fisherman friend was boarding the ship, and he was carrying a lifeless body over his shoulder. Marik walked alongside, limping slightly.  
  
Instantly the small group was surrounded by their friends and family.  
  
"Marik!!" Mokuba cried in delight. "You're okay!!"  
  
Ishizu and Rishid rushed forward and embraced their brother. "Oh Marik!" Ishizu said shakily, brushing Marik's damp bangs aside. "We were so worried!"  
  
Rishid, overcome by emotions, could say nothing more than "Brother." But it was enough.  
  
Marik smiled, hugging them both. "I am alright," he assured them. "But I'm not certain about Yami Bakura's welfare."  
  
"Yami!!" Bakura screamed, his eyes wide with horror as he ran over, realizing that Mako was carrying the old thief.  
  
Mako looked at Bakura seriously. "He's very ill, but he's a lot better than he was earlier," the dark-haired boy said, gently laying his cargo in Bakura's arms.  
  
Bakura looked down at Yami Bakura, tears in his soft brown eyes. "What's wrong with him?!" the boy wailed.  
  
"I'm not sure," Mako replied, shaking his head. "But I truly believe that he will be alright."  
  
****  
  
When everyone was below deck again, Bakura took his Yami into their stateroom and laid him on one of the two beds. Shakily he removed the old thief's wet clothes and helped him get into something warm and dry.  
  
"Here, Yami," the boy said softly. "You need to rest. It will be alright." Gently he pulled the quilt up around his friend and then prepared to gather the wet clothes to put in a sack. When he went to do this, a strange device fell out. "Oh my," Bakura gasped, picking it up and examining it carefully. "What could this be?!" He knew what it looked like—a tracking device of some sort. Could the fake Marik have attached it to his Yami's clothes at the diner? Bakura decided he would need to call in someone who could tell him for certain what it was. Quickly he picked up the phone and dialed a number.  
  
Before long Seto Kaiba arrived at the room, looking emotionless and apathetic as always. Bakura knew, however, that the young businessman was actually a very kind and compassionate person, even though he didn't like to show it very much.  
  
"I found this on my Yami's clothes," the silvery-haired boy said shakily.  
  
Seto took the device and stared at it. "Someone was tracking him," he confirmed, his eyes narrowed.  
  
"It must have been Marik's double!" Bakura exclaimed.  
  
"Most likely." Seto paused. "This isn't a waterproof device, however. It must have short-circuited when your Yami fell in the water."  
  
****  
  
"I wonder where my Yami is?" Yugi worried, pacing the floor of the dining room. He and the others had been with Bakura until just recently, when Yugi had suggested that they would go the diner and get food for everyone.  
  
"He's not back yet?" Tea cried.   
  
"No," Yugi sighed.  
  
While they waited for their orders to be filled, Tea told them of her strange experience.  
  
"Man, that's weird," Joey remarked. "Who the heck could that guy have been?!"  
  
"I can't imagine," Tea said, shaking her head. "When I tried to talk to him more, he vanished!"  
  
"I don't like the sound of that," Yugi exclaimed.  
  
"As well you shouldn't."  
  
Everyone looked up to see Shadi standing there, grim and serious as always.  
  
"Shadi!" Yugi cried. "What's wrong?"  
  
The Egyptian man sat down at their table and looked at Tea piercingly. "The man you met. That was Khu, the owner of the staff that was stolen."  
  
"Tea met Khu?!" Joey burst out. "Oh man . . ."  
  
"What would Khu want with Tea?!" Yugi demanded.  
  
"Perhaps nothing," Shadi replied. "It may have been a pure accident that they met."  
  
Yugi studied Shadi while he spoke, feeling uneasy. Something didn't feel right at all. Then suddenly he realized. Shadi always wore his golden earrings, and his eyes were a penetrating blue. This man who was speaking with him was wearing no earrings and his eyes seemed to be a deep lavender—but the most obvious clue was that he wore no Millennium Ankh around his neck. Did Shadi have a double too? 


	8. Attempted Murder and Mayhem

Before Yugi could think what to do, a commanding voice spoke up from behind him.  
  
"You are not Shadi."  
  
Everyone whirled in shock to see the real Shadi standing in the doorway, fury obvious in his usually emotionless eyes.  
  
"What the heck?!" Joey yelped. "There's two of 'em!"  
  
The Shadi at their table rose, the fury in his own eyes matching that of the new arrival's. "Who dares to impersonate me?!" he cried.  
  
"Perhaps you would care to enlighten me on that, since you are the imposter," the other Shadi said smoothly as he walked up to his double.  
  
"Me? The imposter?" the lavender-eyed Shadi retorted. "That's absurd!"  
  
"There is only one way to settle this," the blue-eyed Shadi said evenly. "We must display our skills with a Millennium Item."  
  
The lavender-eyed Shadi didn't seem fazed. "Of course," he said smoothly, pulling the Millennium Ankh out from under his robes. "And where is your Millennium Item, pretender?"  
  
"Mine is right here." The blue-eyed Shadi also pulled out a Millennium Ankh.  
  
"What the heck?!" Joey burst out. "How can there be two of those things too?!"  
  
"One of them must be a counterfeit," Yugi exclaimed.  
  
"They did a carbon-copy of a Millennium Item?!" Joey burst out. "Man! The things that go on!"  
  
"Now," the blue-eyed Shadi said sternly, "we will see how well you have mastered your item." Outwardly he appeared nonplussed that his opponent also had a Millennium Ankh, and Yugi figured that that was because he knew that he had the real one and that it had the strongest powers.  
  
"You will find that your skills are highly inferior to mine," the lavender-eyed Shadi replied as he let his Ankh begin to glow. A dark blast of energy shot out in an attempt to strike his double down, but the blue-eyed Shadi expertly blocked it with a blast from his own Ankh.  
  
"How is he doing this?" Yugi wondered, gaping at the Shadi whom he was sure was the phony one. "Did he just build his own Millennium Ankh and then power it up with his own dark magic?"  
  
"That, most likely, is exactly what he did," Yami Yugi said, suddenly appearing behind Yugi.  
  
"Yami!" Yugi exclaimed. "Where've you been?!"  
  
"Taking Jade home," the ancient Pharaoh replied, watching as the lavender-eyed Shadi pointed the Ankh at his enemy and ran forward, pressing it against his forehead in an attempt to unlock the man's mind.  
  
Yugi and the other teens gasped.  
  
The blue-eyed Shadi remained calm, however. "You have done much with your item in order to pass it off as the Millennium Ankh, imposter—but you were not able to copy its powers of unlocking the mind!" He raised his own Ankh threateningly, but the imposter only gave a wicked sneer.  
  
"I've installed a dagger in my Ankh," he announced. "One wrong move and I'll make it come out and go right through your skull."  
  
****  
  
Bakura gently dabbed a cool cloth over his Yami's forehead worriedly, his soft eyes shining. "Oh, Yami, I hope you don't have a fever!" he wailed. "Can a spirit have a fever?" He glanced about nervously, feeling as though someone was observing him.  
  
An evil cackle abruptly echoed through the room and the poor boy leaped a mile high. "Who's here?" he demanded shakily.  
  
Slowly a cruel-looking man with dark hair materialized in the room, the infamous stolen sceptre from earlier in his hand. "Ah, I see you remember me," he smirked, seeing the terrified look in the innocent boy's eyes.  
  
"You hurt Shadi the last time you were here," Bakura said accusingly. "But I won't let you hurt Yami!"  
  
"Hmm?" The man glanced at the unconscious thief curiously. "Bakare," he laughed. "I didn't think I'd ever see you again."  
  
Bakura blinked in confusion. "You know him?! . . . Oh my, wait a minute! Isn't your name Khu?!" he demanded.  
  
"That's right." Khu leaned on his sceptre. "This is mine, as you recall. The Staff of Khu."  
  
Bakura fell back in stunned silence. He hadn't made the connection during their last mystery, but now he remembered where he had heard the name Khu before. His Yami had told him that tale of his life in ancient Egypt, and Khu had been an evil zealot leader who had almost succeeded in killing Yami Bakura when the thief had refused to join him and his band of revolutionaries.  
  
"You seem surprised," Khu observed.  
  
"You're not just the Khu who owns that staff," Bakura retorted with a sob. "You hurt my Yami terribly!"  
  
Now Khu blinked. "You know of that? Well, well, I wonder how that came about." He smirked. "Rest assured, young one—while I don't have a desire to harm him now, I may very well want to in the near future." With an evil laugh he then vanished, never having explained what he was there for in the first place.  
  
Bakura again sat down, shaking and wishing that this nightmare would just be over with. "Oh Yami, why did Khu have to come back?!" he bemoaned.  
  
****  
  
The blue-eyed Shadi still remained unfazed, even with the knowledge that a hidden dagger was being aimed right at his forehead. "You may think that you are taking me by surprise with this attack," he said smoothly, "but you are not." Before his opponent could react, the true Shadi had grabbed the wrist with the weapon and was twisting it painfully.  
  
"Whoa," Joey said in awe, "go Shadi!"  
  
"And now, your deception will be revealed." With his free hand Shadi grabbed at the turban and loosened it. A shock of blonde hair tumbled out, startling everyone there.  
  
"No way!" Tristan yelled. "Marik?!"  
  
"No, it's his imposter!" Yugi cried.  
  
"Am I an imposter, or have I simply turned against you all?" Marik said smoothly, adopting his normal, unusual voice. With a sneer, he rubbed off some of the actor's makeup he had used while posing as Shadi, revealing that he actually looked exactly like the real Marik—even down to the scars under his eyes.  
  
"You are a man of many faces," Shadi remarked at this change, "but Marik's true friends know that you are not him."  
  
"Aren't I?" Marik rushed forward with the dagger exposed, stabbing Shadi furiously in the chest before turning to face Yugi and the others. "Does anyone else wish to challenge me?" he yelled amid the gasps of disbelief and horror.  
  
Shadi struggled to stay standing, keeping one hand clamped firmly over the wound while using the other to bring out the Millennium Scales. To Yugi's astonishment, there was a feather resting on one side.  
  
"It is quite obvious now that you have shown your true colors today," the Egyptian man said sternly. A horrible monster began rising from the other side of the scales, by far outweighing the simple feather.  
  
"What's happening?!" Marik yelped as the beast reached out and snatched him.  
  
"Your proper place is in the Shadow Realm," Shadi said.  
  
"You can't send me there!!" Marik fumed, struggling against the beast's superhuman powers.  
  
"Your own actions have placed you there," Shadi replied solemnly. "I have not."  
  
Yugi cringed as he watched Marik be crushed against the monster's broad chest. With a puff of smoke, they both vanished into thin air.  
  
Now Shadi fell forward, the wound becoming increasingly painful and hard to deal with. Quickly Yugi and the others ran to him, and Joey and Tristan caught the mysterious Egyptian just before he could hit the floor.  
  
"Man," Joey cried, "why didn't you use that freaky scale thing earlier?!"  
  
Shadi shook his head weakly. "The scales are to be used wisely and sparingly. It is not my place to decide whether an individual is banished to the Shadow Realm or not. It is their own behavior that makes . . . the . . . decisions. . . ." He groaned softly. "It is their own behavior that brings the Shadow Monster out from the . . . scales. . . . I . . . I cannot . . . summon it . . . myself. . . ."  
  
"Don't try to talk!" Yugi exclaimed. "We have to get you to the infirmary!"  
  
"Do not . . . concern yourselves . . . with that." Shadi sagged back against Joey and Tristan, his robes stained with his blood. Several wisps of dark black hair fell out from under his turban and covered his right eye.  
  
"Come on, guys!" Yugi directed. "Don't listen to what he said; he needs help badly!"  
  
"You got it, Yug," Joey said with a nod. "Heck, that chest wound could be serious!"  
  
****  
  
The real Marik, meanwhile, was sound asleep in his bed after a brisk shower that had restored much of the circulation throughout his body. He hadn't realized how numb his limbs had been getting in the cold water until Ishizu had insisted on having the ship's doctor examine him and they had found out that he had been starting to go into hypothermia.  
  
"It is a miracle that Mako found them when he did," Ishizu said softly to Rishid as she gently pulled the quilt up around her brother's sleeping form. "If they had remained in the water much longer, they both probably would have succumbed to the icy temperatures and drowned." She shuddered as she said that.  
  
"Marik would have found some way out," Rishid replied, his golden eyes reflecting his alarm at Ishizu's statement. "He wouldn't have drowned." He glanced over at his adopted brother, watching him sleep and seeing how innocent and kind he looked. "And he wouldn't have let Bakura's Yami drown either." Marik still had his defiant, short-tempered personality, but he also had a sense of honor.  
  
Ishizu smiled and patted his arm. "I know," she whispered. "I know."  
  
****  
  
Seto got up quietly, not wanting Mokuba to hear him and awaken. For some reason, he found that he just couldn't sleep tonight. The young businessman ran a hand through his hair in vexation and slowly walked over to the door. It was late—almost two in the morning, he noted—and surely no one would notice him if he took a brief walk around the ship. It might help him feel tired again, he hoped. After putting his trenchcoat on over his pajamas and buttoning it—which was something he rarely did—Seto turned the doorknob and stepped out into the hall, locking the door behind him.  
  
The last thing he expected to do was run right into Tea.  
  
"Oh!" the girl exclaimed in embarrassment when they collided around a corner on one of the upper levels. Yugi, Joey, and Tristan had just taken Shadi to the infirmary and were waiting there to hear how he was, while Tea had decided to go for a short walk while she waited. "I . . . I'm sorry. I didn't realize anyone else was here. . . ."  
  
Seto grunted in reply and stepped around her, prepared to head off down the long corridor.  
  
But something prevented him from going.  
  
Slowly he turned back, studying Tea through narrowed eyes. A long time ago, when he and Yugi had been intense rivals, Seto had considered Tea to be just another of Yugi's tagalong band of friends—but over the last year or so, he had found her to have a distinct personality that alternately annoyed and amused him. Tea was an intriguing person, he found himself thinking now.  
  
Tea stared back at him, looking a bit annoyed. "What is it, Kaiba?" she wanted to know.  
  
"Nothing," Seto muttered, turning around and going off again.  
  
****  
  
Bakura was also wide awake, gently tending to his Yami.  
  
The old thief stirred, opening his eyes. "Where am I?" he mumbled.  
  
"You're here on the ship, Yami," Bakura told him in relief, seeing the recognition in Yami Bakura's eyes as he looked up at the boy.  
  
The tomb raider glanced about the room, his senses sharply alert. "Who was here?" he asked urgently.  
  
Bakura blinked. "Yami?" he said uncertainly.  
  
"Who was here?" Yami Bakura growled. "I sense there was a dark presence here not long ago. Who was it?"  
  
Bakura hesitated before replying quietly that it was Khu.  
  
Yami Bakura's eyes narrowed in disgust at the mention of the zealot's name. "That wretched creature," he muttered before switching to Egyptian and saying a stream of words that Bakura was glad he couldn't understand.  
  
At last the thief spoke in English again and asked what Khu had wanted.  
  
"I don't know, Yami," the silvery-haired boy replied softly. "I was afraid he was going to hurt you again."  
  
"As if he would get the chance," Yami Bakura grunted.  
  
****  
  
As Seto walked on around the upper deck, he suddenly heard a blood-curdling scream coming from the direction of the balcony. Muttering to himself, he rushed over and found Tea staring down at the floor below.  
  
"What happened?" he demanded.  
  
Tea shook her head. "I'm not sure," she admitted. "I heard someone screaming about a guy falling off the balcony." As her eyes darted about, taking in the scene below them, she suddenly gasped. "There he is!" she cried, pointing down to a figure sprawled on the deck. "And Kaiba, he looks like you! It must be Seth!!" 


	9. Vicious Attack

Notes: Nuru is Des's character! ^____~  
  
  
  
"Seth?!" Seto repeated in disbelief. "You've gotta be kidding me."  
  
Tea was already hurrying to the stairs. "Well, come on! Let's find out!" she cried.  
  
Seto followed slowly, his eyes narrowed suspiciously. Somehow, even though he despised Seth with every fiber of his being, he couldn't see the ancient priest being stupid enough to fall off the balcony. What on earth had happened?!  
  
When they reached the accident site, several others had gathered around the crumpled form of the brown-haired man. As Seto approached, there were gasps all around.  
  
"Who are you?!" one woman demanded. "His brother?! You look just like him!"  
  
Seto's lip curled in disgust. "Thankfully, no, I'm not his brother. But how did he fall?" he wanted to know, crossing his arms.  
  
"Someone pushed him!" a young boy exclaimed.  
  
"Did you see who it was?" Tea asked.  
  
The boy shook his head. "Naw. I just heard the guy scream as he fell over the balcony railing."  
  
"Then you don't actually know if someone pushed him or not?" Seto mused.  
  
"Well . . ." The boy paused, blinking. "There was some weird guy in a dark cloak who disappeared right after he fell, so I figured that he'd shoved him." He looked down at the still body, wide-eyed. "Is he dead?!"  
  
Seto knelt down next to his "double", feeling repulsed. He was sure that it was Seth, especially considering the way the man was dressed. But how would he be able to tell if the ancient priest was dead?! Technically, he was already dead—and Seto had to admit that he wished Seth would just stay that way. Feeling stupid, Seto shook the mage on his shoulder. "Get up," he growled harshly.  
  
"You might hurt him worse!" a woman cried indignantly.  
  
"I know what I'm doing," Seto said defensively.  
  
"I think his neck's broken!" another woman exclaimed then.  
  
"That's crazy," Seto retorted, getting frustrated with this crowd clustering around.  
  
"Perhaps not as crazy as all that."  
  
Everyone looked up as a strange woman with short, silvery hair, penetrating orange eyes, and a dress that looked to be of ancient Egyptian origin pushed her way through the throngs of people.  
  
"Who's that?" Tea wondered, narrowing her eyes.  
  
"My name does not matter," she said, pushing Seto aside and kneeling next to the lifeless high priest. While those around watched in disbelief, the mysterious female took Seth's hand and concentrated hard, chanting an incantation in a language unfamiliar to all those around.  
  
Seto observed coldly, wondering what she was trying to accomplish.  
  
Suddenly Seth stirred, his blue eyes fluttering open. "Nuru," he uttered quietly, stroking the woman's cheek. If his neck *had* been broken, it was now healed.  
  
Satisfied, Nuru leaned back and smiled, enjoying the attention she was getting from him.  
  
Slowly the onlookers backed away, not sure whether to be relieved or disturbed at what had taken place.  
  
"What's going on here?" Seto demanded at last, voicing the question they were all thinking.  
  
Seth looked up at him and smirked, pulling himself into a sitting position. "Ah, the great Seto Kaiba," he said sarcastically. "I can assure you that this time around, you will not be defeating me."  
  
"Enough of that," Seto growled. "How did you fall off the balcony?!"  
  
"Did that cloaked person push ya?" the young boy from earlier wanted to know.  
  
"Lord Seth cannot be plied with questions now," the woman called Nuru said stiffly, helping the priest to stand. "Leave him be."  
  
Undaunted, Seto grabbed his ancestor and yanked him forward. "What happened to you?" he hissed. "I want to know—now." Especially, he thought grimly, if Seth was connected with everything that was going on.  
  
"Intrigued, are we?" Seth nonchalantly brushed his nemesis's hands away. "Well, I'm afraid you'll have to stay intrigued for a bit longer." And with that, he and Nuru vanished in a cloud of smoke.  
  
Instantly murmurs rose from all directions.  
  
"Magicians, they must have been magicians!!"  
  
"Perhaps they were ghosts!"  
  
Tea came over to Seto, her eyes showing her utter shock. "That . . . was definitely weird," she said at last.  
****  
The next day things weren't any less strange.  
  
"Man," Joey said as everyone gathered in the dining room for breakfast, "I've hardly had any sleep!" He rubbed at his eyes tiredly. "We were up half the night tryin' to see if Shadi would be okay."  
  
"And how is he?" Ishizu asked.  
  
"Unconscious," Tristan sighed.  
  
"But the doctor thinks he'll pull through," Yugi added in relief.  
  
Seto nodded curtly. "Now," he said abruptly, "I believe that someone should investigate that antique shop where those Egyptian artifacts were stolen." He had already explained about the newspaper article he and his companions had seen the day before.  
  
"Well, I guess we have to start somewhere," Yugi agreed slowly. "Was that place in Chinatown?"  
  
"Uh huh," Tea nodded.  
  
"Do we have any other leads?" Bakura spoke up quietly.  
  
"Let's see. . . . 'Eccentric old woman reports disappearance of archaeologist son,'" Mai read from a newspaper as she approached. "Does that count?"  
  
"Let me see that," Yugi requested with a gasp, and Mai obligingly handed him the newspaper. After quickly scanning the article over, the short boy looked up thoughtfully. "According to this lady, her son had just gotten back from a dig in Egypt a couple of weeks ago," he reported. "He started acting weird shortly after that and she was sure that something had scared him back on his dig. Then he went out late two nights ago and vanished!"  
  
"Oh my," Bakura said softly.  
  
"I wouldn't be surprised if this is all connected somehow," Yugi declared. "Someone should go talk to her."  
  
"I will," Bakura volunteered.  
  
"And someone should visit the antique shop," Tea reminded them.  
  
Yugi nodded. "Alright. Let's all split into groups," he directed. It took a while to figure things out, but eventually they decided on groups of twos—Yugi and Tea, Joey and Tristan, Bakura and his Yami, and . . .  
  
"Marik." Seto looked at the Egyptian boy sternly. "Take Mokuba with you."  
  
Marik blinked in surprise, as did Mokuba.  
  
"Don't ask questions," Seto grunted. The truth was that he was planning to investigate some rather dangerous things and he didn't want Mokuba with him—but neither did he want Mokuba to be left in their room on the ship.  
  
"Alright," Marik said slowly. "Do you want to come with me, Mokuba?" He smiled at his young friend.  
  
Mokuba grinned. "Sure!" he exclaimed.  
  
"Are you going all by yourself, Kaiba?" Mai asked.  
  
"That's right," Seto said emotionlessly.  
  
Mai smirked at him. "I'll come with you," she decided.  
  
"I don't think so." Seto stood up and headed for the door.  
  
Mai flipped her long hair and sashayed after him. "The fact that you don't want Mokuba along obviously means that you're afraid he'd get in trouble if he went with you," she declared. "And that means that *you* probably are going to. Therefore, you'll need someone to keep you in check."  
  
Seto looked at her sternly. "I don't need anyone to come with me. I can take care of myself."  
  
"Sorry, Kaiba," Mai said with a laugh. "I'm coming along for the ride and there's not a thing you can do about it."  
  
Yugi had to laugh. "It looks like Kaiba may have met his match," he remarked.  
****  
As Bakura and his Yami arrived at the eccentric woman's house, the boy pleaded with the ancient tomb raider not to say or do anything embarrassing, to which Yami Bakura only grunted in reply.  
  
Shortly after Bakura knocked on the door, it was opened by an elderly, kindly-looking woman—and five cats, which immediately went up to Yami Bakura and began rubbing against his legs.  
  
"WHAT IN THE NAME OF HEAVEN IS GOING ON HERE?!?!?!" The thief screamed loud enough that Bakura wanted to crawl into a hole and just stay there. In spite of the yelling, however, the cats were not frightened one bit. If anything, they simply cuddled him even more.  
  
The woman chuckled. "They like you," she declared, then looked at Bakura. "Can I help you?"  
  
Bakura scratched his cheek. "Well, um, we're actually here because we're . . . amateur detectives and we were hoping to ask you a few questions about your son's disappearance . . . if that's alright," he hastened to add. "We thought that perhaps it tied in with another mystery we're working on at the moment."  
  
"Well, come right in," the woman smiled, holding the door open wide. "I'm Eliza Mason."  
  
"I'm Bakura," the boy said shyly as he and Yami Bakura stepped into the parlor, "and this is . . ." He paused, trying to figure out how to introduce the old thief. "Yami," he said at last.  
  
"Well, I'm happy to meet you both," Eliza said, gesturing around. "Go ahead and sit down."  
  
Yami Bakura made his way over to the soft couch and sank into the cushions. Much to his annoyance, the five cats were joined by one more and they all gathered around him, purring loudly.  
  
Bakura had to laugh at the comical sight. He would've thought that the cats would run from his Yami in terror, but instead they couldn't get enough of him!  
  
Eliza chuckled as well. "Oh, my cats are just dears," she said, watching as one of them kneaded its paws into the thief's chest.  
  
Yami Bakura growled angrily and hissed something about summoning the Man-Eater Bug, but the cats only snuggled against him and fell asleep, preventing him from even moving.  
  
"Well," Bakura said, stifling another chuckle, "can you tell us what sort of dig your son was on?"  
  
Eliza shook her head. "He only said that it had something to do with a site that the Egyptians still say is under an ancient curse. Of course he didn't believe that nonsense, and so he went off. But when he came back, he acted so . . ." She paused. "Well, jumpy and on-edge," she finished at last. "I didn't know what to do. And two nights ago, he just up and left the house, and I haven't seen him since!"  
  
"I'm so sorry," Bakura said softly. "And you have absolutely no idea where he might have gone?"  
  
"None whatsoever," Eliza sighed.  
****  
"So where are we going, Marik?" Mokuba asked curiously as they wandered down the streets of San Francisco.  
  
"Well . . ." Marik paused thoughtfully. "I thought we might have a look at that warehouse Yugi was talking about last night and see if there were any clues around there."  
  
"Sounds good to me!" Mokuba chirped, then paused. "I'm worried about Seto, though," he admitted. "What could he be getting into?!"  
  
Marik ruffled the younger boy's hair. "Now, I wouldn't worry about your brother, especially since Mai is with him." He chuckled.  
  
Mokuba laughed too.  
  
"Well, well. We were wonderin' where you were last night."  
  
Marik looked up and gasped, seeing several wicked-looking men suddenly block their path. "What are you talking about?" he demanded. "I have never seen you before! And what do you want?!"  
  
"What do we want?" the leader smirked, ignoring Marik's other question as he and his cronies forced the twosome to back up into a dark alley. "Let's see . . . your body dead on the ground would be nice. Or maybe we'll just take your young friend here." He reached to grab Mokuba, who stood his ground determinedly.  
  
"You'll never get me!" the dark-haired boy declared.  
  
"I will die to protect him," Marik said angrily, stepping forward.  
  
Instantly he was grabbed and held up in the air. "You'll have to," the man sneered.  
  
"Put him down!!" Mokuba screamed.  
  
Marik struggled, wrenching the man's hand away. "I am not afraid of you!" he cried, drawing out the Millennium Rod and producing the dagger, forcing his assailant to back away and throw him to the ground.  
  
"Marik, look out!" Mokuba shrieked. "Behind you!!!"  
  
The older boy whirled around, but not quick enough to stop another thug from grabbing him and trying to break his neck.  
  
"Stop it!!" Mokuba wailed. "You're gonna kill him!!"  
  
"That's kinda the idea, kid," the thug sneered, clutching tighter.  
  
Furiously Marik stabbed the man in the arm, trying to get his grip loosened. The thug grunted in pain, grabbing at his arm and shoving Marik backward.  
  
"Stay away from us," the Egyptian boy hissed, pointing the Rod at the would-be assassin angrily.  
  
Without warning two more bullies jumped him from the other side of the alley, beating him harshly and pulling the Rod out of his hand. Maliciously they then shoved him several feet back, where he hit his head on a brick wall and slumped to the ground.  
  
"Marik!!" Mokuba screamed. Firmly he planted himself in front of his fallen friend's body and glared at the thugs. "You hurt him!! Just 'cause he was tryin to protect me, you hurt him!!!"  
  
"We had orders to take him out," the leader said with a smirk, kicking at Marik hatefully. "He didn't keep his end of the bargain last night."  
  
"Leave him alone!!!" Mokuba yelled. "What bargain?!"  
  
Ignoring him, the men gathered around and prepared to use the Millennium Rod to stab Marik violently when there was a sudden flash of light.  
  
"What's that?!" one of them yelled.  
  
"I don't know," said another, "but I'm not waitin' to find out!"  
  
And with that, they all tore through the alley, letting the Millennium Rod drop to the ground as they fled.  
  
Mokuba watched them go, his heart pounding, and then knelt down by Marik and grabbed his arm. "Marik?" he said shakily. "Come on, get up! Please get up!!"  
  
The Egyptian boy remained silent and still, not responding to his friend's pleas at all.  
  
In desperation Mokuba grabbed his arm again and pulled, trying to raise him up, but to no avail. Marik's lifeless body was much too heavy for him to lift.  
  
"Get up, Marik!" Mokuba sobbed. "Why won't you get up?!" Realizing it was no use, the younger boy embraced his friend tightly and buried his face in Marik's chest, tears streaming down his face. 


	10. One Disaster After Another

"Is this the place?" Yugi wondered curiously as he and Tea stopped in front of a building on a Chinatown street.  
  
"The name looks familiar," Tea remarked, gazing up at the sign.  
  
**This is where I took Jade last night,** Yami Yugi remarked from inside the Puzzle, sounding surprised.  
  
~Wow, really?~ Yugi exclaimed, pushing the door open and looking around at the interior. "Um, hello?" he called. "Is . . . anyone here?"  
  
"Hello," a rather high-pitched voice greeted, and an elderly man with graying hair stepped out of the back room. "Welcome to Uncle's Rare Finds!"  
  
"Oh . . . hi," Yugi replied, and introduced himself and Tea.  
  
"And what can I do for you today?" Uncle asked a bit suspiciously, probably thinking that teenagers usually were not interested in antiques.  
  
"Well . . ." Tea paused, taking out a newspaper. "We . . . we were investigating those strange robberies here in the city and we heard about the Egyptian artifacts that disappeared from your shop," she admitted.  
  
"What Egyptian artifacts?!" Uncle demanded, looking even more suspicious. "And why are you investigating the robberies? You are much too young to be police officers!"  
  
Quickly Tea held up the article for him to look at while Yugi tried to explain that they were amateur detectives. Uncle didn't seem very receptive to the idea.  
  
"You are teenagers!" he cried. "Teenagers!! And you will be bad influence on Jade!!"  
  
Yugi turned a deep crimson, but before he could stammer out a reply a much younger man appeared in the doorway, looking embarrassed as well.  
  
"Uncle!" he exclaimed. "This is the boy who brought Jade home last night!" He blinked at Yugi, suddenly realizing that he looked a bit different. "Aren't you?"  
  
"Actually . . ." There was a flash of light and Yami Yugi appeared in the room as well. "That was I."  
  
"AIIYAAA!!!" Uncle yelped, backing up. "A spirit came out of the pyramid that boy wears around his neck!!! Jackie!!!!"  
  
The man called Jackie stepped forward, looking confused. "What is going on here?" he demanded, staring at Yugi and then at his Yami.  
  
"Do not move!" Uncle ordered. Narrowing his eyes, he took out a blowfish and, pointing it at Yami Yugi, chanted an ancient Chinese spell. After a moment he relaxed and put the fish away. "There is no need for concern," he said then. "He is good spirit!" And with that he whacked Jackie on the forehead with his index and middle fingers.  
  
"Ow!" Jackie cried in protest.  
  
"Hey, what's all the hubbub?" a familiar voice exclaimed, and then Jade appeared, sliding down the banister from upstairs.  
  
"Hello, Jade," Yami Yugi greeted.  
  
"Oh hey!" Jade chirped enthusiastically, and then greeted Yugi and was introduced to Tea. "So," she said now, "did you ever find that mundo-weirdo who got your friend all sloshed?"  
  
"What?!" Uncle exclaimed. "What is she talking about?!"  
  
"Um, she's talking about a guy she met who's posing as a friend of ours," Yugi explained. "And . . ." He paused, trying to figure out how to say that the imposter had been sent to a dark realm. "Well, I don't think we'll need to worry about him causing trouble again," the boy said at last.  
  
"Oooh." Jade's eyes lit up at the thought of intrigue. "Did he get offed or something?"  
  
"Jade!!" Jackie cried in disbelief.  
  
"No," Yugi said slowly, "he's still around somewhere." Quickly he changed the subject. "But anyway, we were wondering about those stolen artifacts," he said again, explaining again why they were there and looking to Jackie for help.  
  
"Oh!" Jackie said in understanding, looking at the article Tea was still holding up. "Those artifacts disappeared the day after I brought them back from Egypt. I am still trying to find them."  
  
Uncle whacked Jackie again. "Aiiyaa! They are still missing?!" He folded his arms and looked vexed. "They were stolen by forces of darkness!" the man proclaimed loudly.  
  
"Uncle, please," Jackie protested. "I really don't think . . ."  
  
"Of course you don't!" Uncle snapped. "But they have magic powers! The forces of darkness are now stronger!!"  
  
"Magic powers?!" Yugi exclaimed, stepping forward.  
  
"Are you sure?" Tea wanted to know.  
  
Uncle waved his arms about wildly. "Of course Uncle is sure!!" he yelled. "Do not doubt Uncle!!"  
  
"Um, okay," Tea said slowly, blinking.  
  
****  
  
Mokuba shook his friend frantically, tears pouring from his eyes. "Come on, Marik!" he sobbed. "Wake up! Please!!" The younger boy felt warm blood run over his hands and he gasped in horror. Feeling sickened and alarmed at the realization that the blood was Marik's, Mokuba tried harder to revive the Egyptian boy.  
  
"Come on!! It's . . . it's okay, Marik! Just . . . say something," he sobbed. "Anything! . . . Don't just lay there like . . . like you're dead or something!" Mokuba tried again to pull his friend up and this time managed to get him propped up against the same building he had hit his head on earlier. Marik's body was limp and motionless as his blonde hair fell across his face and as a frighteningly long train of blood dripped from his forehead to the ground.  
  
"You've gotta be okay," Mokuba wailed. "Please, Marik! Please!!!" He pushed the older boy's back up against the wall and tried to look into his face for any signs of awakening.  
  
"Mokuba."  
  
The boy looked up to see Rishid standing there, looking grave.  
  
"Oh Rishid!" Mokuba said in relief. "Can you help Marik?! These really messed-up guys came and were beating him up and I couldn't stop them and they hurt him really bad!!" Tears filled his eyes. "I can't get him to wake up!!"  
  
Quickly Rishid knelt down next to Marik and lifted the teenage boy into his arms. "Marik?" he whispered softly, angered when he saw how his adopted brother was bleeding. "Who the devil would hurt him like this?" the man growled, holding Marik's body close.  
  
"I don't know," Mokuba said shakily, "but I think they were mistaking him for someone else, maybe even that creepy double!"  
  
Rishid's lip curled in disgust. "You will have to describe the attackers to me," he said as he carried Marik out of the alley.  
  
"S-sure," Mokuba nodded, blinking. "But how did you know to come? And is Marik gonna be okay?!"  
  
"I sensed he was hurt," Rishid replied quietly. "As for his condition . . . he still lives. He needs to be able to rest peacefully, but I believe that he will be alright." He paused. "You were very brave, Mokuba—trying to protect him."  
  
Mokuba shook his head. "He was the brave one," he said softly. "He was trying to protect me."  
  
Rishid smiled softly to himself as he held Marik closer. Yes, he knew that was true.  
  
****  
  
Shadi stirred, trying to pry his eyes open. He felt confused and exhausted, as if he had spent most of his strength fighting a treacherous demon.  
  
"Ah, you are awake."  
  
He blinked, looking up to see Ishizu standing over him.  
  
"The doctor says that you are doing much better than he'd hoped," Marik's sister went on.  
  
Shadi tried to rise but was gently pushed back down. "How long have you been here?" he asked, finding his voice.  
  
Ishizu turned slightly. "Not long," she replied.  
  
Now Shadi realized that his turban had been removed and that his long, dark hair was spilling freely over his shoulders, but he made no comment on that as he looked around the room. "Where is Bakura?" he wanted to know.  
  
Ishizu didn't look surprised. "Bakura is away from the ship," she replied.  
  
Shadi's eyes narrowed. "They will go after him," he said soberly. "I have seen it in my dreams."  
  
"As have I." Ishizu nodded and went to look out the porthole. "Some people are not at all what they may seem," she added mysteriously, but Shadi knew exactly what she meant.  
  
****  
  
Bakura glanced around Eliza's living room curiously, seeing the many statues and paintings of cats that decorated every available space. "You certainly seem to enjoy cats," he commented.  
  
"Oh yes," Eliza smiled. "They're just dears." She paused. "But you and your friend must be thirsty."  
  
Bakura glanced at his Yami, who was still buried under his furry fan club and looking less than happy about it. "Well, I'm alright, but perhaps Yami would like something," the boy said slowly.  
  
Yami Bakura grunted. "Just get these beasts off me and I'll be satisfied," he hissed.  
  
One of the cats stirred and rubbed up under his chin, purring loudly. Another climbed onto his shoulder and licked his cheek.  
  
"I'm afraid they won't go, Yami," Bakura chuckled.  
  
Eliza, meanwhile, had stood up and was now standing behind Bakura. Without warning, she suddenly knocked a planted plant to the floor and then gasped. "Oh my! I'm just so clumsy these days," she apologized, leaning down to pick it up.  
  
Immediately Bakura stood up and went to assist her. "It could happen to anyone," he smiled.  
  
Eliza looked at him thoughtfully. "You really are a sweet, innocent boy, aren't you?" she remarked, purposely letting a white cloth sail to the floor. "Oh dear. I'm just dropping things left and right today," she said with a sigh.  
  
Still blushing at Eliza's comment about him being sweet and innocent, Bakura bent down to pick the handkerchief up. As he did so, he was suddenly overwhelmed by a strange smell which, he soon realized, was coming from all over the cloth.  
  
Sensing trouble, Yami Bakura suddenly sprang to his feet, disturbing all of the cats. "Get away from that!!" he growled at Bakura, pulling him back abruptly. Much to his annoyance, the felines all crowded around once more, apparently not even angry at Yami Bakura for startling them.  
  
Bakura blinked in surprise. "Why, Yami, there's no need to get so upset about . . ." He trailed off, unable to shake the feeling of being tired from his mind.  
  
"Sweet, innocent Bakura." Eliza smiled a smile which looked hauntingly fake. "Maybe you should lay down and have a nap, hmm? You're looking awfully sleepy."  
  
"What did you do to him?!" Yami Bakura growled.  
  
"Me?" Eliza pointed to herself in horror. "You actually have the audacity to even think that I would do something to him?! I'm shocked speechless!!"  
  
"Bakura, you imbecile!!" Yami Bakura yelled as the boy slumped against him. "Stay awake, you dolt!!!"  
  
Bakura could only hear the voices very vaguely as he slipped into unconsciousness and knew no more.  
  
****  
  
Joey and Tristan, meanwhile, had quite by accident met up with Seto and Mai over near the shopping district.  
  
"Boy," Joey remarked sarcastically, "it sure does look dangerous here."  
  
Seto grunted. "I'm looking for the man who was following us yesterday," he admitted, "not engaged in any ridiculous shopping trip."  
  
That was when he was suddenly knocked to the ground by several rambunctious kids. "Tag!" one of them yelled. "You're it!"  
  
Seto growled in irritation as he pulled himself up. "I don't think so," he replied.  
  
"Hey," Joey asked the kids, "have you seen anyone weird hangin' around here lately?"  
  
"Sure," one of the kids answered promptly.  
  
"Really?" Tristan exclaimed. "What did they look like?"  
  
"Like him," a girl announced, pointing at Seto. "Only he was dressed really funny."  
  
"Seth again?" Mai wondered.  
  
"It looks like it," Seto grunted. "Was he alone?" he asked the kids, who rapidly shook their heads.  
  
"There were two people with him," a boy reported. "Some weird lady with silver hair and orange eyes, and some guy with black hair that was mostly in a ponytail and a long scar across his left cheek."  
  
"Nuru," Seto muttered. "That must've been the girl. And the other man sounds like the one who was after us yesterday." Louder he demanded to know, "How long ago was this?"  
  
"About twenty minutes ago," another girl said. "Are you related to them?"  
  
Seto growled and turned away, not about to answer.  
  
"He is," Joey answered for him with a grin. "At least to the one guy, anyway."  
  
****  
  
"Bakura."  
  
The boy stirred slightly, hearing the familiar voice. It wasn't a pleasant sound.  
  
"Wake up, Bakura. Come back to the world of the living."  
  
A match was lit and Bakura opened his eyes, seeing that he was laying on a hard wooden slab with Eliza standing over him.  
  
"What . . . what have you done?" he rasped. "And where is Yami?!" He paused. "And who are you really?! I know your voice from somewhere. . . ." He trailed off.  
  
Eliza seemed amused. "Yes, you do, don't you . . . darling."  
  
Bakura gasped. "No," he whispered. "No, it can't be!"  
  
"You do remember me. How reassuring." With that "Eliza" rubbed off the makeup she was wearing and smirked at the boy. "I've come back from the dead, you could say," Vivalene purred in a low voice. "And now nothing will stop me from claiming what is mine." 


	11. Mental Anguish

During a lunch that Jackie had invited them to, Yugi leaned back on the couch and smiled. "That was delicious," he complimented.  
  
Uncle nodded curtly. "Tohru made it," he said, taking a bit out of an infamous mung bean sandwich. Yugi and Tea had to admit that they were relieved that their lunch consisted of a salad and casserole.  
  
"Well now," Yami Yugi spoke up, "what is this about magic powers inhabiting the stolen Egyptian artifacts?"  
  
"Oh, it is just a myth," Jackie tried to say, but he was instantly whacked by Uncle.  
  
"It is not myth!" the grouchy man cried. "Daolon Wong was after them!"  
  
"Whoa," Jade exclaimed. "Seriously?" She sat up straight, intently interested. "Why did the Anti-Uncle want them? Do they have some kind of mundo-coolio powers like the Talis . . ."  
  
Instantly she was interrupted by Jackie. "Jade!" he scolded. "I am certain our guests do not wish to hear about . . ."  
  
"We can speak freely in front of them!" Uncle said, scolding him. "This spirit is the Egyptian Pharaoh Yugioh! There is no one better to share the mysteries of the past with!"  
  
Yugi and Tea exchanged looks as Uncle paused, his eyes narrowing as a cold chill breezed through the room, extinguishing the lights.  
  
"Spirits lurk!" Uncle said grimly.  
  
Yami Yugi stood, the third eye glowing on his forehead. "Reveal yourselves!" he yelled commandingly.  
  
"They wish to tell us something," Uncle announced, standing as well.  
  
"Are they good spirits?" Yugi exclaimed, jerking as he felt an unseen hand on his shoulder and a chill breath against his neck.  
  
"One of them is," Yami Yugi replied after a pause. "He says he is Chi Master Fong."  
  
Uncle smiled. "Of course he is," he said.  
  
"The other, however," Yami Yugi continued, "will not introduce himself . . . or herself. I sense a darkness about that entity."  
  
"Uncle, what do they want?!" Jackie cried.  
  
Uncle was already concentrating hard, trying to attempt communication. "Chi Master Fong is trying to warn us," he declared. "There is a great, ancient evil we are dealing with."  
  
"Oh great," Tea muttered. "Why can't we ever deal with ordinary smugglers or jewel thieves any more?"  
  
****  
  
Gently Rishid laid his brother's body down on the bed in his room and pulled the quilt up around him. "He will be alright," the man said in relief, having already bandaged Marik's wounds and examined the bump on the boy's head. "The doctor said that he should awaken soon."  
  
Mokuba brightened and climbed onto the bed by his friend's side. "Good ol' Marik," he said softly. "He's been such a great pal."  
  
Rishid nodded slowly, his mind wandering as he tried to figure out why those bullies had hurt the boy. There was no reason for it! Silently he cursed the double who had caused so much pain for one undeserving of it.  
  
Ishizu entered the room then and hastened to her brother's side, taking his hand. "Dear Marik," she whispered, then looked up at Rishid grimly. "It is a blessing that he was not hurt worse than he was. I sense that Bakura has been taken."  
  
"What?!" Mokuba yelped.  
  
Rishid's eyes narrowed and he took Marik's other hand protectively. "When was this?" he asked, realizing that Marik most likely could have been taken just as easily.  
  
"I sensed it happened not long ago," Ishizu replied in a sad tone, smoothing Marik's hair back.  
  
"What do they want with Bakura?!" Mokuba burst out.  
  
"Unfortunately, that I do not know," Ishizu said soberly. "Nor do I know the identity of his abductor." She paused. "And the fact that he was taken causes me to ponder on the whereabouts of his Yami as well."  
  
Mokuba hugged his unconscious friend worriedly. "Those jerks were gonna try to kill Marik with the Millennium Rod, but then they saw this bright light down at the other end of the alley and it scared them off," he remembered.  
  
"We are greatly indebted to whoever caused that light to appear," Ishizu said quietly.  
  
****  
  
Bakura gasped in horror and struggled to rise from the slab, but Vivalene roughly pushed him down.  
  
"Now, now. None of that," she scolded.  
  
"What do you want with me?!" he cried, again trying to get up. "And what did you do to Yami?!"  
  
Vivalene grabbed him viciously and forced him to lay flat. "Oh, poor Yami," she sneered. "It's your fault he's hurt, you know."  
  
"What?!" Bakura cried in disbelief. "No! You're lying!!"  
  
"Am I?" Vivalene half-turned, still keeping one of her hands on Bakura's chest to restrain him. "Tell me, Bakura—do you remember what you did after you were overcome by that sweet smell?"  
  
Bakura was practically shaking—both with fear and outrage. "I . . . I fell unconscious," he replied at last.  
  
Vivalene smirked at him. "Actually, darling, you pushed your Yami out the window."  
  
"No!!" Bakura screamed, leaping clear off the slab. "I would never do such a thing!!"  
  
Vivalene's emerald eyes flashed mercilessly. "Oh no? Where is he, then? Poor Bakura. You hurt your Yami—just as you were responsible for your sister's death."  
  
Bakura paled. "What are you saying?! I couldn't have done anything to help her!! Heaven knows how I wished I could!!" Tears filled his eyes as the painful memories returned.  
  
"Ah, but you still blamed yourself," Vivalene purred. "If only you had followed up on your feeling of foreboding from earlier, maybe she wouldn't have gotten in that car crash. Maybe she would still be with you today. You killed her, Bakura."  
  
"Stop it!!" Bakura sobbed, clutching at her hands and trying to pry them away. "Stop it!!!!"  
  
"I've hit a weak spot, I see." Vivalene smoothed Bakura's bangs back, only to have them flip back over his forehead stubbornly. "Poor, sweet, innocent Bakura. You harmed the people you cared about most in your life."  
  
"No!!!" Bakura wailed. "It's not true!!" He struggled to arise but found himself too weak. Vivalene sneered as she produced a small bottle in her hand.  
  
"You won't be going anywhere for awhile," she told him. "This temporary paralysis drug will see to that. Completely odorless, you know."  
  
"Why do you want to torment me?!" Bakura demanded, tears streaming down his face. "You didn't even have much contact with me the last time you were around!"  
  
"True, very true." Vivalene stroked his cheek, repulsing him. "But abducting you is the best way to get to your friends, especially once I return you to them in a broken-down state."  
  
Bakura tried to figure out how to roll himself off the slab, but his frozen body wouldn't even allow him that much. "I don't know what you expect to gain from this!" he said bravely.  
  
"Hmmm. Perhaps a bit of revenge?" Vivalene smirked. "I can never have too much of that. And oh . . . they'll be so busy dealing with your condition that they won't have any time to stop me from wreaking my havoc everywhere! Now . . . where were we?" Slowly and precisely she began braiding the boy's hair and caressing his face, all the while whispering dire threats as to what would happen to his friends if they refused to back off from the case. Bakura, who was starting to feel very drowsy, heard the words and impressed them sharply into his mind.  
  
****  
  
Shadi clutched the Millennium Ankh, his senses sharply alert. Someone was in the room—and they weren't friendly.  
  
"Reveal yourself to me," he said coldly. "I know of your presence."  
  
With an evil laugh, the man resembling Marik stepped out of the shadows and stood over his weakened opponent. "You are recovering from what I did, I see," he remarked.  
  
Shadi's expression didn't change. "So. You cannot be held in the Shadow Realm. I might have expected that. Evil such as you bring cannot be kept prisoner or locked away in a dark realm. It always find a way to manifest itself once more."  
  
"You think you're pretty clever, don't you?" Marik's double leaned over the side of the bed, grinning maniacally. "What with all those special powers."  
  
"Any power I have was granted to me to bring about a higher purpose," Shadi replied solemnly. "It is not mine to squander."  
  
"Tough talker." The wicked man grabbed Shadi around the neck and began to squeeze. "You've been a thorn in my side long enough. But you're just a mortal man endowed with mystical abilities. I, on the other hand . . ." He paused, looking deep into Shadi's blue eyes. "I am much more dangerous than you might be inclined to believe." Speaking in an ancient tongue, he malevolently brought forth a grotesque beast, which stood fluttering over his enemy and roared viciously.  
  
Shadi remained unfazed. "I know exactly how dangerous you are," he said grimly. "And I know that you are a shapeshifter. You only wished to make those teenagers believe that you were an excellent actor, but it is so much more than that. You do not simply imitate your victims—you can become them completely."  
  
"Been doing your research, I see." The other man sneered. "However, I have many mortals working for me who are excellent actors. They also can pretend to be anyone I wish them to be. Before long, those you have appointed yourself to watch over will become confused with all the doubles of themselves that I have unleashed on the city."  
  
Shadi leaned back, prying his assailant's hand away from his throat. "You may think that all of this will take me by surprise, but in that you have failed. I have been playing along with your little ruse, but you are not deceiving me. You are not the same person who was sent to the Shadow Realm. What I said to you a moment before about shapeshifting is actually in reference to an ancient creature whom you have been attempting to make people believe you are. But you cannot shapeshift, nor do you have an army of doubles throughout the city." He paused. "And the beast hovering over me is only a lifelike hologram stolen from the Kaiba Corporation," he added quietly, "not a true threat."  
  
Marik's double growled, contorting his face angrily. "My master was right—you are a worthy opponent." He grabbed Shadi again, pressing unbearably on the back of his neck before the weakened man could do a thing about it. "Maybe I don't have any magic powers, but I don't need them!" the masquerader hissed as his enemy fell unconscious. "Sweet dreams, Shadi!" And with that he turned and spun out of the room.  
  
****  
  
Yami Bakura groaned as he opened his eyes, cursing in Egyptian. Where the devil was he? Slowly he realized that he was laying in a bed of flowers underneath "Eliza's" window and that those blasted cats had all crowded around, frantically trying to wake him up. Now that they saw he was conscious, they purred loudly and snuggled close, rubbing up against him and licking his face.  
  
"ENOUGH!!!!!!!" He screamed loud enough that he heard an echo—but still the cats cuddled. Frustrated, he stood up without warning and clutched at his aching head. Now he remembered. Vivalene had challenged him to a Shadow Game, telling him that she'd become quite skilled at them during her stint as a Rare Hunter. He had replied that he didn't have time for any such thing at the moment—and then Vivalene had pulled out what looked like an old staff and summoned its dark powers to throw him backward out the window. Why did everyone have to be a magician these days?!  
  
He looked around angrily, searching for any sign of Bakura. "That imbecile," he muttered, proceeding to call the boy every rude name he could think of while powering up the Millennium Ring to help him search. "Ring, where is Bakura?!" he growled.  
  
The spindles went wild, then pointed to the right. Yami Bakura instantly dashed off, choosing to ignore the six cats that bounded after him.  
  
****  
  
Seto, meanwhile, was looking high and low for Seth and his two cronies, but no one else had seen them and the trio didn't appear to be around anywhere nearby.  
  
"This is ridiculous," Mai sighed. "Maybe we should just give up."  
  
"Yeah," Joey added in frustration. "I mean, it's not like they're just gonna pop up outta any old place and . . ."  
  
He trailed off as he was suddenly shoved to the ground by a fleeing figure who seemed to resemble the high priest Seth.  
  
"Hey!!! Watch where you're goin'!!!" the Brooklyn boy yelled angrily, waving his fist.  
  
Seth ignored him and continued on, bowling over several other passers-by in his attempt to get away.  
  
"Not so fast." Seto stepped boldly into his path and held out his arms, preventing his evil ancestor from leaving. "Now. What is it you're up to?"  
  
Seth sneered. "Wouldn't you like to know. But you'll be pleased to know that my current plans have nothing to do with you or your brother—as long as you stay out of my way, that is." He turned to go. "And now if you'll excuse me."  
  
Seto reached out and grabbed him. "Not so fast," he hissed, but Seth simply whisked himself away in a cloud of smoke.  
  
"Man," Joey groaned, "I hate it when he does that."  
  
****  
  
"AIIYAA!!" Uncle cried loudly, startling everyone else in the room.  
  
"What is it, Uncle?!" Jackie demanded. "What did Chi Master Fong say??"  
  
Uncle looked at him grimly. "He revealed to me who has stolen the Egyptian artifacts!"  
  
"Well, tell us, already!" Jade said impatiently.  
  
"Daolon Wong has joined forces with a dangerous woman known as The Viper," Uncle replied slowly, "and they, together with an evil trio of spirits, have pulled off the heist!"  
  
"VIPER?!" Jackie and Jade burst out.  
  
"Not our Viper!!" Jade protested. "She's an EX-thief!"  
  
"No, wait!" Yugi exclaimed, his eyes wide. "We know someone called The Viper—Vivalene!!"  
  
****  
  
Carelessly Vivalene dumped Bakura's limp body in Golden Gate Park with a smirk. "Sweet, innocent Bakura," she muttered.  
  
Bakura moaned and stirred, shuddering. "Why?" he sobbed. "Why couldn't I have stopped Amane from getting in that car crash? Perhaps it was my fault! Oh . . ."  
  
Vivalene pressed down on his shoulder blades wickedly with her foot. "Such a tortured soul," she sneered, turning to leave. 


	12. Vivalene's Treachery Continues

It wasn't long after The Viper left when Yami Bakura found the boy laying sprawled in the grass.  
  
"Bakura!" the thief growled angrily, dropping to his knees and giving his young charge a gentle shake.  
  
The boy groaned and curled into a tight ball, his silvery hair—by now unbraided again—falling across his face and shoulders. "I killed her," he cried in despair. "I should have been able to save her, but she's dead!!" Tears coursed down his face.  
  
Yami Bakura grabbed Bakura angrily. "What are you talking about, you dolt?!" he yelled. "You didn't kill anyone!!"  
  
"Amane," Bakura sobbed. "She's dead because I ignored that sense of foreboding!" It was obvious that he didn't know where he was or that anyone was with him.  
  
In frustration Yami Bakura pulled the boy up and clutched at his arms. "Open your eyes," he growled.  
  
Almost as if in response, Bakura's eyes fluttered open. "Yami?" he said softly.  
  
"That's right, you idiot," Yami Bakura snapped. "Now. What happened to you?"  
  
Bakura's eyes filled with tears again. "Yami," he wailed, "I didn't mean to push you out the window!! Please forgive me, Yami!!"  
  
The old thief just stared at him in disbelief. "What are you talking about, you moron?!" he snapped.  
  
Bakura looked up at his Yami sorrowfully. "Vivalene told me I did it," he sobbed.  
  
Yami Bakura's eyes narrowed. "Oh, for the love of . . ." He trailed off and cursed in Egyptian before reverting back to English. "You imbecile, you should know by now that everything she tells you is a lie!! She threw me out the window—you were unconscious!!" He shook Bakura roughly, seeing the empty look in the boy's soft brown eyes. "What did she do to you?! Once I find her, I'll . . ."  
  
"No Yami!!" Bakura practically shrieked. "You can't go after her!! You mustn't!!"  
  
"And why not?!" Yami Bakura growled. "Don't tell me you want her to get away with this treachery?!"  
  
Bakura looked crushed. "Yami, of course not," he said in a quieter tone. "But you just can't go after her, and the others mustn't either!!" His eyelids started to droop as drowsiness began to overtake him once more.  
  
"Go to sleep, you dolt," Yami Bakura grunted. "Perhaps you'll be feeling more like yourself when you awaken."  
  
Almost before he had finished his sentence Bakura slumped against him in exhaustion. The thief glared at him before at last picking him up to carry him back to the ship. Only then did he realize that the cats were rubbing against his legs again.  
  
"You ridiculous creatures!!" Yami Bakura fumed. "Don't you have somewhere else to go?? Off with you now!!"  
  
The cats only purred loudly and began following him as he started walking.  
  
****  
  
Marik slowly began to return to the conscious world, instantly becoming aware of the fact that he had a terrible headache—and that his hands were each being held gently. He felt safe and loved as he opened his eyes and found himself surrounded by Ishizu, Rishid, and little Mokuba—who instantly sprang up and hugged his friend when he saw that he was awake.  
  
"Marik!" he cried happily.  
  
"We were so worried, dear brother," Ishizu said softly, squeezing his hand.  
  
"It's so good to have you back with us, Marik," Rishid added, the relief showing in his golden eyes.  
  
Marik smiled weakly in reply. "I'm alright," he said in a rasping voice.  
  
****  
  
As Yami Bakura carried Bakura's sleeping body through the streets, he suddenly encountered Joey and Tristan, who had gotten separated from Seto and Mai a while back.  
  
"What the heck?!" Joey burst out. "What's the matter with Bakura?! And why are all those cats rubbing against you?!"  
  
"Never you mind," Yami Bakura grumped, trying to ignore the cats.  
  
"Hey, Bakura's our buddy!" Tristan interrupted angrily. "Even if you don't care about him, we do!"  
  
Yami Bakura's eyes narrowed at the hurtful remark. "You insolent cur," he hissed.  
  
Bakura stirred then and opened his eyes. "Oh hello," he said sleepily to Joey and Tristan.  
  
"Hey man," Joey said, laying a hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay?"  
  
Bakura's expression became sad again. "Joey, please promise me you'll all stop investigating," he begged.  
  
"What?!" Joey burst out. "Give up the case?! No way! We never back down from a mystery! I mean, come on! Seth! Nuru! That other freaky guy! This is gettin' serious here!!"  
  
"The witch-woman did something to him," Yami Bakura growled.  
  
"'Witch-woman'?!" Tristan repeated.  
  
Now Bakura's eyes glistened with tears. "Oh please don't investigate any more! You can let the police handle this!"  
  
"What's the matter, buddy?" Tristan asked worriedly. "I've never seen you like this!"  
  
"Yeah," Joey added. "Heck, we've solved lots of mysteries more dangerous than this one and you've never tried to get us to give 'em up. I didn't think you'd be some kinda coward now." As soon as the words left his mouth he regretted them, but the damage had been done.  
  
Tears spilled over Bakura's cheeks and he leaped down from his Yami's arms to stand next to Joey. "You don't understand!" he wailed. "This one *is* more dangerous! You're all going to die if you keep pursuing it, and . . . and . . ." He turned away. "It will all be my fault!!" he sobbed hysterically.  
  
"Whoa, pal, calm down," Tristan exclaimed, seriously concerned now.  
  
Bakura shook his head. "I suppose you can call me a coward if you wish," he said at last to Joey, "because I . . . I am afraid of being responsible for killing everyone I care about, and if that's cowardice, then I'm guilty!" And with that he turned and ran into the nearby trees, leaving Joey and Tristan both stunned.  
  
"Come back here, you dolt!!" Yami Bakura screamed and tried to dash after him, but by the time he arrived at the spot where he'd last seen Bakura, the boy had vanished.  
  
"Where is he?!" Tristan exclaimed.  
  
Yami Bakura clenched his fists. "You moron!!" he yelled at Joey. "Now see what you've done!! I told you the witch-woman did something to him!! He's not in his right mind and you've just made it worse!!"  
  
"Hey, I'm sorry, okay!" Joey said in frustration. "I should've known better."  
  
Yami Bakura cursed at him in Egyptian. "Imbecile," he muttered before dashing off to find the runaway boy.  
  
Tristan stared after him in disbelief. "Man, what could've happened to Bakura?!" he cried. "Whatever that woman did—whoever she is—it must've been catastrophic!"  
  
"You said it, man!" Joey agreed emphatically. "Come on, we've gotta get him back! If something else happens to him 'cause he ran off it'll be my fault!"  
  
****  
  
Uncle had tried to communicate with the dark spirit several different times now, but always without getting any results.  
  
"It refuses to speak," he said grimly, and Yami Yugi had reached the same conclusion.  
  
"I believe it is simply here to cause us distress," the ancient Pharaoh declared solemnly.  
  
"Wait!" Uncle exclaimed suddenly, his blowfish glowing intensely. "I am getting a faint reading!"  
  
Everyone perked up.  
  
"Well, what's the fish say?" Jade asked impatiently.  
  
"This spirit was a healer in ancient Egypt," Uncle replied slowly.  
  
"The fish told you that?" Jackie exclaimed, his eyes wide.  
  
"Do not be ridiculous!" Uncle snapped. "Chi Master Fong told me so!" He paused. "But both of them have departed now."  
  
The cold breeze abruptly halted and the lights turned back on. Yugi and Tea looked at each other and exchanged looks of relief.  
  
"But what would the ancient healer want here?" Yugi wanted to know then, blinking in confusion.  
  
"Perhaps he is one of the three who participated in the theft of the artifacts," Yami Yugi suggested.  
  
"I would not be surprised," Uncle declared, "but the healer is a 'she.'"  
  
"So now what?" Jade chirped. "Are we gonna go out and kick some major evil spirit booty?"  
  
"Jade," Jackie exclaimed, "we do not even know where the spirits are or who they are . . . or what sorts of powers they may have! And besides, it is too dangerous for you to come along!"  
  
"Awww," Jade whined.  
  
Yami Yugi closed his eyes briefly, then opened them again. "One of the spirits may be an evil high priest named Seth," he announced.  
  
"AIIYYAAA!" Uncle cried loud enough that the room seemed to shake.  
  
Yugi blinked. "You know about Seth?" he said in surprise.  
  
Uncle pointed to several pieces of scratch paper. "Uncle was doing research on the Egyptian tablets that were among the artifacts stolen from here," he replied. "There were several mentions of Seth on one of them!"  
  
Quickly Yami Yugi rushed over and picked them up. His expression grew much more solemn and grim as he read them through.  
  
"What do they say, Yami?" Yugi asked, coming over to look.  
  
"This one seems to be a curse Seth put on a small part of Egypt," Yami Yugi replied slowly. "Right before he died during the final battle fought over control of the world, he weakly raised the hand holding his sceptre and said that the spot around the area where he was entombed would forever be a dark and dreary place, and that those who trespassed would be overcome by a immense sense of despair and hopelessness."  
  
Uncle nodded. "I know the spot," he declared.  
  
"Hey," Tea exclaimed suddenly, "could that be the spot where that lady's son was digging?"  
  
"What lady's son?" Jackie asked. When Tea explained, the man's eyes grew wide. "He was on the archaeological dig I went on!" he cried.  
  
****  
  
Rex was wandering down the long corridors on the boat when he heard a low moan coming from a room where the door was slightly ajar. "What the . . ." he muttered, going over to see what was wrong. "Hey!" he called, knocking on the door softly. "Is everything alright in there?"  
  
He didn't get an answer immediately and so the long-haired boy pushed the door open further to look in at a man he vaguely remembered from the last wild mystery. "Hey!" he exclaimed again. "What's wrong?!"  
  
The man seemed at first to not hear him, but then he opened his blue eyes and gazed back at the well-meaning intruder. "I . . . I am fine," he said then with much effort.  
  
"Fine?" Rex blinked. "You're laid up in bed and you've got some kinda weird marks on your neck!"  
  
The man's hand flew up to examine the red welts around his neck, his eyes narrowing.  
  
"Did someone choke you too?" Rex exclaimed, remembering his own experience.  
  
Shadi shook his head. "They tried," he said at last. He had actually fallen unconscious when his assailant had pushed against the pressure point on his neck, not when he had been nearly strangled. He gave Rex a piercing look. "Were you attacked?" he demanded.  
  
"Well . . . yeah," Rex admitted, uncomfortable under the man's penetrating stare.  
  
"Tell me of your experience, then," Shadi said quietly.  
  
Rex hesitated at first, but he found that he didn't want to withhold the information from this strange, enigmatic, and cryptic man.  
  
"Our attacker was the same person," Shadi deduced at the conclusion of Rex's tale.  
  
"But why the heck did he go after me?!" Rex burst out in frustration.  
  
"As a warning, most likely," Shadi replied. "I regret that I cannot explain everything to you at this time, but know that you must always be on your guard."  
  
"Gee, how encouraging," Rex said sarcastically.  
  
****  
  
Bakura ran blindly through the trees, sobbing uncontrollably. Vivalene's evil words echoed through his mind.  
  
They'll die, Bakura. They'll all die, and you'll know it was your fault. You should have stopped them. You should have always stopped them. Who do you think was responsible for getting them hurt on all your previous cases? You, Bakura. You were responsible for it all!  
  
"No!! No, no, no!!!" Bakura wailed. A branch slapped him sharply across the cheek, leaving a painful mark, but the boy barely noticed. "I wasn't responsible!! I wasn't!!"  
  
Then why didn't you make them stop investigating? Tell me, Bakura, when you kneel next to their lonely graves in some out-of-the-way cemetery where no one goes, what will you think? Will you regret never having stopped them? Will you realize that they would still be alive if it wasn't for your inability to do what you should have?  
  
"Stop!!" Bakura screamed. "Stop it!!"  
  
He never knew how it wound up happening, exactly—one moment he was tearing madly through the foliage, and the next he had somehow managed to run out onto Golden Gate Bridge—just as a car was coming right toward him. The boy let out a yelp of alarm and darted out of the way frantically while the driver screeched past and cursed loudly at him. As more cars came from the other direction, Bakura was forced dangerously near to the edge and then right over it.  
  
Now the boy found himself clutching the bottom of the bridge, watching as the icy water churned far below and splashed up onto his jeans. He shuddered and looked up at the passing cars, none of which stopped to help him. Bakura was not able to be seen by anyone unless they were specifically looking for him, and even his cries and pleas for help remained unheard.  
  
"Oh, what shall I do?!" he fretted. "I won't be able to hold on much longer and then I'll fall into the ocean!" 


	13. Traitor?

Seto and Mai happened to be walking near the park when the blonde girl suddenly gasped.  
  
"What is it?" Seto demanded.  
  
"There's someone hanging from the bridge!" Mai replied, pointing ahead frantically.  
  
Seto's eyes narrowed. "I'll go get him. Call the police in case I need some backup."  
  
Mai shakily nodded in agreement and hurried after Seto, pulling out her cell phone.  
  
As Seto approached the bridge, he became aware of a frightened, soft, British voice screaming for help. "Bakura?" the young businessman said in astonishment, quickly bending down to look over the edge. "What are you doing down there like that?!"  
  
Bakura looked up in relief. "I fell!" he explained hastily as his hands started to slip. "Please help me up!!"  
  
Quickly Seto reached out and caught hold of the boy's wrists. "Grab on," he ordered, and Bakura shakily obeyed.  
  
Before long the trembling boy was back on solid ground and he looked up at Seto gratefully. "Thank you," he said quietly, tears in his eyes.  
  
Seto grunted.  
  
Mai knelt down next to him in concern. "Hey, kiddo," she said gently, laying a hand on his shoulder, "are you okay?"  
  
Bakura looked up at her, surprised at the gesture, then broke down in sobs again. "Everyone's going to die!" he wailed.  
  
"What?!" Seto demanded, narrowing his eyes.  
  
"They're all going to die because of me!!" Bakura sobbed hysterically.  
  
Mai gasped. "Bakura, what happened to you?!" she cried.  
  
"It's all my fault! I killed Amane! And I'll wind up killing all of my friends!!" Bakura simply could not be comforted.  
  
Mai grabbed Bakura's shoulders fiercely. "Bakura, look at me," she said firmly.   
  
Slowly the boy gazed up into her violet eyes. Mai could see that his brown orbs were full of pain and anguish. She smiled gently, knowing how tender and innocent Bakura was.  
  
"Hon, listen to me. I don't know what happened to you, but I do know that you were never responsible for anyone dying," Mai said softly.  
  
"But I was!!" Bakura wailed. "It's my fault about my poor sister!! Vivalene told me it was, and I know she was right!!"  
  
Seto went rigid. "Vivalene?!" he gasped.  
  
Mai, who had never met Vivalene personally but knew of her treachery, narrowed her eyes. "Vivalene? Look, Bakura, anything that woman tells you is a lie," she stated flatly. "You were not responsible for your sister's death, and no one here is going to die."  
  
"But they will, unless they stop investigating!" Bakura replied shakily.  
  
"Bakura, no one is going to die," Mai repeated firmly.  
  
"Yes they will!!" Bakura screamed. "They'll all die because of me!!!" He fell forward, crying on Mai's shoulder. She held him close, shocked at his behavior.  
  
"Kaiba, the poor kid's hysterical!" she exclaimed.  
  
Seto clenched his fists. "What I want to know is, How did Vivalene come back from the dead?" he growled. "And what's she doing in San Francisco?!"  
  
That was when Yami Bakura, Joey, and Tristan all hurried up, out of breath from all their running.  
  
"Mai, what the heck happened here?!" Joey gasped, seeing the girl kneeling by the edge of the bridge holding a sobbing Bakura while Seto looked on, stone-faced.  
  
"Bakura says that Vivalene told him that he was responsible for his sister's death!" Mai replied, feeling outraged at the woman's actions.  
  
"WHAT?!?!?!" Joey cried in disbelief. "Vivalene's dead!!"  
  
"Apparently, Wheeler, she's come back to torment us further," Seto grunted.  
  
"Bakura needs some kind of help that I can't give him," Mai exclaimed as the boy continued to weep on her shoulder. "He's been affected seriously!"  
  
"I'll take him," Yami Bakura snarled.  
  
"Leave him alone," Tristan retorted. "Maybe Yugi's Yami thinks you care about Bakura, but I don't!"  
  
Yami Bakura drew out the Millennium Ring threateningly. "Mortal, I honestly don't care what you think," he hissed.   
  
To everyone's surprise, the thief knelt down by Bakura's side and touched his shoulder. "Bakura?" he growled.  
  
The boy looked up. "Yami," he said weakly. "Yami, please don't go after Vivalene!!"  
  
"She needs to be stopped," Yami Bakura retorted. "Of course I'm going to go after her!"  
  
"No, Yami, oh please no!!!" Bakura shrieked. "Please don't!!!" Mai gently released him then and the boy clutched the tomb raider's arm frantically.  
  
"Dang, man, you can't go off—not when he's carrying on like this!" Joey cried.  
  
"I'm not some imbecile!!" Yami Bakura roared. "DON'T YOU THINK I *KNOW* THAT?!" Slowly he turned to face Bakura and looked into the boy's tortured eyes. "Now. I'm not going to leave. Pull yourself together, Bakura."  
  
Bakura just stared at him.  
  
Joey slammed his fist into his palm. "Man, someone's gotta DO something!!" he declared. "Maybe we should go try to find Yugi!"  
  
"Bakura needs a proper rest," Yami Bakura retorted. "I will take him back to the ship."  
  
"Very well," Seto nodded curtly. "But I agree that Yugi should be told about these latest developments. And the police as well."  
  
"Someone else can tell them," Yami Bakura grunted, scooping the hysterical Bakura into his arms and carrying him off.  
  
"Please," Bakura screamed as he was hauled toward the docks, "please promise me that you'll stop investigating!! Please!!!"  
  
Mai stood up slowly, her violet eyes wide and sad. "Poor kid," she said softly. It upset her greatly to see Bakura in such a distressed state and she found herself praying that he would be alright. "I don't know if he'll ever get over what that Vivalene told him!"  
  
"He will," Joey said comfortingly, laying a hand on her shoulder. "Oh man, he has to!"  
  
****  
  
When Marik was resting peacefully again, Rishid quietly excused himself and went off the ship to look for the beasts who had hurt his master and adopted brother. Mokuba had given him descriptions as best as he could, but he hadn't realized what the man was up to or he might have protested about it.  
  
Now Rishid glanced about in the thickening fog as he neared the area where Marik and Mokuba had been ambushed. Of course it wasn't likely that he would find the thugs there, but he hoped to find someone who had seen them around in the past and would know where they might be now.  
  
Even though he was on his guard, the last thing he was expecting was to suddenly have a knife thrust out in front of him as he approached the alley.  
  
"One more step and I'll slit your throat," a dangerous voice hissed.  
  
****  
  
When Yugi and Tea left Uncle's shop, they had more questions than answers.  
  
"So now what?!" Tea cried in frustration. "It seems like everything's just gotten more confusing than it was before!"  
  
"I know," Yugi sighed in agreement. "Apparently Vivalene's back from the grave and she's out to cause trouble again . . . but where did she come from and how did she wind up meeting this Daolon Wong person? And how does Seth and that healer and that other guy fit into things?" He shook his head.  
  
"Hey!" Tea exclaimed. "Isn't that Bakura up there?!" She pointed ahead at a boy with long, silvery hair and a sweater that resembled the one that their friend owned. "Bakura!!" she called then without waiting for Yugi's reply. "Wait up!"  
  
Instead of stopping, the boy only increased his speed and tore around a corner.  
  
"Well, that was weird," Tea remarked, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.  
  
"Come on!" Yugi cried. "Let's go after him!" Quickly he dashed ahead as fast as his short legs could carry him, soon arriving at the corner where their friend had vanished. "I don't see him now," he exclaimed in surprise.  
  
"I don't either," Tea admitted, looking in all directions. "Bakura? Bakura, where did you go?" She stared ahead, blinking. "Hey, there he goes again!" the girl burst out in complete confusion.  
  
"Bakura!!" Yugi yelled. The boy again quickened his pace and darted away.  
  
"I can't understand why he's acting like this!" Tea said, throwing her hands in the air. "I'm sure he can hear us calling to him, so why is he avoiding us like the plague?!"  
  
"Maybe," Yugi mused now, "that's not Bakura!"  
  
"Oh no!" Tea moaned when she realized what Yugi was getting at. "He's got a double too?!"  
  
"I'm afraid I wouldn't rule it out," Yugi replied with a sad smile. "But just incase that is our friend, we'd better keep trying to catch up to him."  
  
****  
  
Marik woke up hearing the door open. "Ishizu?" he called, thinking that perhaps his sister had gone out and was now returning. He glanced over at Mokuba, who was curled up asleep in a nearby chair, and then called out again. "Rishid? Is that you?"  
  
Silence, except for the approaching footsteps.  
  
Marik decided to pretend that he was asleep for the moment and so he laid back down and closed his eyes. Before long he sensed that someone was standing by the bed and he immediately sat straight up to face the intruder—only to stare as Shadi suddenly towered over him.  
  
"Shadi?!" the boy gasped. "You shouldn't be out of bed already! You're still hurt from that chest wound!"  
  
Still the man was silent, his vacant red eyes boring into Marik's appalled lavender ones.  
  
Wait a minute . . . red eyes?!  
  
Now Marik took a closer look at the Millennium Items' guardian, new concern growing in his heart. Shadi's eyes were glowing red and showed no trace of any emotion or consideration for anyone. In his hand he held the Millennium Ankh, which he now raised up to Marik's eye level. Abruptly he grabbed the boy viciously, his expression never changing as he raised him off the bed and into the air.  
  
Marik gasped, struggling against his captor. "Shadi, what is it you want?!" he demanded. "If you are Shadi at all!" he added. Could this be a double?  
  
In the next moment his hopes of that were dashed, however—Shadi's robe fell open at the chest and revealed the blood-soaked bandages covering his stab wound.  
  
"You are Shadi," Marik exclaimed, drawing his breath in sharply.  
  
Mokuba started to stir then, his blue-gray eyes fluttering open. "Marik, what's . . ." As the scene registered before him, the younger boy leaped up in shock and horror. "Shadi, let him go!!!" he yelled.  
  
Shadi never paid attention to Mokuba and just continued to yank Marik forward until they were eye level with each other. The Rod, Shadi's red eyes seemed to ask. Where is the Rod?  
  
Marik's eyes widened. "You want it!" he cried. "You want the Millennium Rod!"  
  
Shadi continued to stare at his prisoner in a penetrating way, never wavering.  
  
"What's going on?!" Mokuba burst out. "Has he gone crazy?!"  
  
"I don't know," Marik replied, struggling to get free. "Either that or he's just turned evil!"  
  
That was when the door opened and Ishizu entered. She gasped when she saw what was unfolding and rushed forward, grabbing at Shadi's arm furiously. "What are you doing?!" she demanded. "Let my brother go!!"  
  
To Mokuba's and Marik's surprise, Shadi released the Egyptian boy from his grasp and tossed him back onto the bed. Then, however, he faced Ishizu and grabbed for the Millennium Tauk around her neck.  
  
Angrily Ishizu seized his wrists and restrained him from continuing his attempt. "Shadi, you are not well," she said solemnly. "You are very ill."  
  
Shadi wrenched his hands free and took hold of the Millennium Tauk, still refusing to speak.  
  
Marik's eyes lit with a rage as he rushed forward. "What do you think you're doing?!" he screamed.  
  
"Marik," Ishizu said calmly, "call the steward and tell him that we have an intruder."  
  
Marik stared worriedly but picked up the phone and did as he was told, all the while looking worriedly at his sister.  
  
Now Shadi was trying to work the clasp on the back of the necklace and get it open. Ishizu grabbed his wrists again. "Listen to me, Shadi," she said quietly. "Your health is ailing. You are not in your right mind or you would never be doing this. You are the guardian of the Millennium Items, appointed to protect them from thieves."  
  
"Yeah!" Mokuba broke in. "You're not supposed to be a thief yourself!"  
  
"Excuse me," a voice from the doorway said suddenly and the steward stepped in. "Is there a problem in here?"  
  
"There certainly is!" Marik exclaimed, leaping off the bed.  
  
Shadi turned to look at the approaching steward and then suddenly bolted for the door, bowling the man over and disappearing down the hall.  
  
"Well, of all the . . ." Marik clenched his fists angrily.  
  
The steward got up slowly and looked perplexed. "What just happened?" he demanded.  
  
Ishizu looked at him grimly. "That man was stabbed last night. He is in no condition to be wandering through the ship. Just now he tried to steal some . . . items belonging to myself and my brother Marik."  
  
"But he was fine just a while ago! Just being stabbed wouldn't make him go like that!" Mokuba burst out, still upset over the whole incident.  
  
Ishizu stared out the door somberly. "No, it would not, little Mokuba," she agreed. "It would not." 


	14. Crazed Rampage

As Yami Bakura approached the harbor, a sobbing Bakura still in his arms, Shadi abruptly ran out and stepped in front of him.  
  
"What do you think you're doing?" Yami Bakura said crossly. "Step away, mortal, or I shall be forced to . . ."  
  
Before he could finish his sentence, Shadi had tackled and bowled him over, sending him to the ground and then standing over him threateningly. Bakura, who had wound up being flung several feet away by these actions, cried out in pain and shock.  
  
"Shadi, what are you doing?!" Bakura screamed. "What's wrong?!"  
  
Refusing to answer, the Egyptian man produced a dagger and held it up to Yami Bakura's throat.  
  
The tomb robber let out a startled cry and then snatched Shadi's wrist angrily. "You imbecile!! What do you think you're doing?!" Yami Bakura burst out indignantly.  
  
The Ring, Shadi stated silently. Give it to me.  
  
"DON'T BE ABSURD!!!!!!" Infuriated, Yami Bakura threw the man backwards harshly against a stack of crates and watched the dagger fall from his hand. "I will never relinquish my Millennium Ring!!"  
  
Bakura stood up, his innocent heart pounding. "Yami, what's happening?! Why is Shadi trying to hurt you?!" he wailed. "Is this a double?!"  
  
"No," Yami Bakura growled in reply. "This is not a double. This is the real Shadi."  
  
"But why?!" Bakura shrieked as Shadi got up and charged at the thief again.  
  
"He's gone mad!" Yami Bakura snarled, pulling out the Millennium Ring and letting it glow. Shadi retaliated by displaying the Millennium Ankh and shooting a burst of deadly energy from it.  
  
"Shadi!!" Bakura screamed, grabbing at the man's arm. "Shadi, please stop it! You're going to hurt him, and if you don't, he'll hurt you!! Oh please come back to yourself!!"  
  
In response Shadi threw Bakura to the ground violently before attacking Yami Bakura once more.  
  
"You moron!!" the tomb robber growled, glancing at the hapless Bakura and then back up at the boy's assailant. "You will pay for that." He lunged forward, knocking Shadi off-balance and then angrily grabbing the dagger to point at the crazed man's throat.  
  
"YAMI!!" Bakura leaped up in horror. "Don't kill him, Yami! Oh please don't!!"  
  
"He's going to kill us otherwise, you dolt!" Yami Bakura snarled.  
  
"But he doesn't know what he's doing!" Bakura insisted. "You know Shadi would never act like this if he were in his right mind! You said yourself that he'd cracked up!"  
  
"Either that or something worse," Yami Bakura hissed, but didn't elaborate.  
  
Furiously Shadi snatched the thief's wrist and dug into it painfully with his fingernails. Yami Bakura gave a cry of agony and loosened his grip on the knife, dropping it to the ground with a loud clunk.  
  
With a sudden burst of pressure, Shadi now kicked his legs up and knocked Yami Bakura away from him, letting his silvery-haired opponent fall into the ocean with a startled yelp.  
  
"Yami!!" Bakura cried in horror, finding a rope and throwing it down for his Yami to grab onto. Sputtering, the thief clutched it tightly and pulled himself back onto the dock.  
  
Shadi watched him for a moment and then picked up the Millennium Ring from where it had fallen, turning to leave.  
  
"Wait!" Bakura cried, trying to run in front of him. "Why, Shadi?!" he sobbed. "Why would you do this?!"  
  
Shadi, apparently unfazed, simply walked on, heading for his next victim. Before Bakura could stop him, the mysterious man had vanished through one of his vortexes.  
  
"He's got the Ring," a very drenched Yami Bakura coughed, a fire in his eyes. "He stole it from me!!"  
  
"And it's all my fault!!" Bakura wailed loudly.  
  
"You imbecile!!" Yami Bakura snapped. "As if you could have stopped him!! If I couldn't do it, you most certainly never could have!!"  
  
Bakura blinked at his Yami's harsh words. Even though he knew them to be true, he still felt that he should have been able to do something.  
  
"I'm just too much of a weakling to do anything to help!!" Bakura cried now, tears in his eyes again.  
  
"Oh hush," Yami Bakura growled. He would never admit it, but he liked Bakura much better the way he was—sweet, innocent, naive, and trusting. He didn't want the boy to change.  
  
****  
  
Seto and those with him were searching all over Chinatown for Yugi and Tea when suddenly a strange figure appeared in front of them. He had long white hair, very unusual eyes—one green and one brown—and was carrying a short sceptre in his hand.  
  
"Whoa!" Joey exclaimed in disbelief. "Who the heck are you?!"  
  
"Me?" The man snorted. "I am a very deadly Dark Chi Wizard, boy, and you would be wise not to interfere with me!"  
  
"Alright, alright!" Joey threw up his hands in vexation and puzzlement.  
  
The chi wizard chanted an ancient spell and then vanished in a cloud of blue-purple smoke.  
  
"Guys," Tristan said after a brief silence, "that was . . . really weird."  
  
"What the heck is a chi wizard?" Joey asked, blinking.  
  
Mai rolled her eyes. "Lamebrain, it's someone skilled in Chinese magic," she informed him. "And the one we just met dabbles in the dark part of it!"  
  
Seto remained silent through all of this. There were too many loose ends in this mystery. Deadly doubles. Threatening thieves. Missing Egyptian artifacts. Evil, ancient spirits and now chi wizards and Vivalene.  
  
"I'm going back to the museum," he said abruptly, turning around.  
  
"What?!" Joey burst out in complete confusion.  
  
"I have some questions to ask the curator," Seto replied shortly. "The rest of you can find Yugi and Tea." And before anyone could say anything more, the young businessman had rounded a corner and vanished from their sight.  
  
"Well, how do you like that?" Mai remarked, crossing her arms. "He's gone off by himself again!"  
  
"That's Kaiba for you," Tristan said, shaking his head.  
  
"Hey!" Joey exclaimed. "What the heck?! There's Bakura! And he's with Vivalene!!!" The blonde boy just stared in shock. Even though he knew that Vivalene was still alive, it was quite a shock to actually see her in the flesh—especially after he'd watched her pitch backwards off a building into the darkness below.  
  
"Hey, you're kidding me!!" Tristan cried. "Bakura was being taken back to the ship by his Yami!!"  
  
"Well, he's here now," Mai said with a blink, "unless that one's a double."  
  
At that moment the both of them chose to stroll over. "Oh hello darlings," Vivalene purred. "So nice to see you again, Joseph."  
  
"Hey, don't give me that garbage!!" Joey burst out, pointing his forefinger at the woman in emphasis. "You almost killed two of my friends and me as well!!"  
  
Vivalene didn't even bat an eye. "Oh, darling, that was my evil sister," she purred.  
  
"That trick won't work on me this time!" Joey fumed.  
  
The boy who looked like Bakura stepped forward. "Hello," he smiled. "How are you all doing?"  
  
"We're fine, Bakura," Tristan said slowly. "And you've sure seemed to cheer up fast."  
  
"Hmm? Why, I've felt perfectly fine all day, Tristan," Bakura replied with a puzzled smile.  
  
"Fine?" Mai stepped forward and stared into his purple eyes. "Well, if crying and carrying on that everyone was going to die because of you is being fine I guess you were ecstatic!" Wait a minute . . . Bakura's eyes are brown! she realized. Another piece of proof that this one is phony!  
  
Vivalene ruffled Joey's hair. "Well, darlings, I'd love to stay and chat, but there's just so terribly much to do! I just thought I'd bring Bakura back to you before I left."  
  
"Yeah?" Tristan glared. "You know, if the police found out you were still kicking around they'd come after you with at least three charges of attempted murder," he declared.  
  
Vivalene chuckled. "Yes, well . . . life certainly is interesting, is it not?" And with that cryptic remark, she snapped her fingers and also instantly vanished.  
  
"What the heck?!" Joey cried in frustration.  
  
Bakura blinked. "Well, I really don't see what's so odd," he smiled.  
  
"For one thing, buddy, you are!" Tristan retorted. "Come on, we all know you're not the real Bakura!"  
  
"Well, of course I am, Tristan," Bakura responded. "If I wasn't Bakura, then who on earth would I be?"  
  
"Man, that's what we wanna find out!" Joey exclaimed, moving forward threateningly.  
  
"Oh please don't hurt me, Joey!" Bakura wailed, suddenly frightened—or so he appeared to be. As he backed up, Mai realized that he was slowly pulling a gun out of his pocket.  
  
"Look out!!" she screamed, pushing Joey and Tristan to the ground just as the phony Bakura fired. The bullet flew into the air harmlessly, but Joey found himself start to feel dizzy.  
  
"Hey! What the heck did you do?!" he yelled. He and the other two teens looked up to see the fake Bakura covering his nose and mouth with his hand.  
  
"Well," he said in a muffled tone, "it looks like you've just been outsmarted by me. You see, Vivalene wanted me to bring you all in. So . . . I will."  
  
****  
  
Several cloaked figures stepped out of the shadows near the alley and surrounded Rishid grimly, each one holding a different weapon. The figure in the lead threw off the hood of his cloak, revealing none other than one who strikingly resembled Marik.  
  
"Hello there. Rishid, isn't it?" he laughed, twirling his machete about in a dangerous manner. Rishid felt very uneasy at the thought of tangling with anyone pretending to be his beloved brother, but he stood his ground and narrowed his eyes angrily.  
  
"What is it you want?" he demanded.  
  
"To stop you from achieving what you want," Marik's double grinned nastily.  
  
Rishid backed up. "According to my brother's young friend, those who attacked them were mistaking Master Marik for a double, most likely you." He glared at the boy angrily.  
  
"And you are most likely right." The double paused and stepped up closer, bringing the machete up to Rishid's heart. "But this entire plot is too complex for your feeble mind to possibly comprehend. Unfortunately . . ." He turned slightly. "You cannot be allowed to learn more about it."  
  
Rishid narrowed his eyes. "Are you saying that if I continued to pursue this path I would find the answers?"  
  
"I'm not saying anything." Marik's double then chose to add to the discomfort he was putting Rishid through by switching his voice to sound exactly like that of the boy he was pretending to be. "Except that I'm afraid you'll have to go, old friend."  
  
"Stop it," Rishid snarled.  
  
The imposter only laughed. "Attack," he ordered.  
  
Rishid was prepared for the assault, but even one as strong and tough as he couldn't fight off every last one of the brutes, nor could he possibly dodge every swing and strike of their weapons. And when the treacherous impersonator summoned half a dozen more of his minions as well, poor Rishid found that he was utterly outnumbered.  
  
"Well," Marik's double sneered as he kicked at Rishid's wounded body, "it seems I must say goodbye for now, brother."  
  
"You are not . . . Marik," Rishid hissed, struggling to stand up again.  
  
"Oh. I forgot." The imposter produced his machete and plunged it into the man's chest. "Now I will say goodbye."  
  
****  
  
Yugi and Tea were wandering around still looking for the phony Bakura when a threatening figure stepped into their path.  
  
"Hey!" Yugi exclaimed. "Shadi, what are you . . ."  
  
The boy trailed off as he was suddenly jerked toward the deranged Shadi by his Millennium Puzzle, which suddenly glowed as Yami Yugi emerged from it.  
  
"Let him go, Shadi," the Pharaoh said angrily. "You know you don't want to do this."  
  
Shadi ignored him and tried to pull the Puzzle off from around Yugi's neck, all the while holding the dagger dangerously in the other hand.  
  
"You psycho freak! What's wrong with you?!" Tea burst out angrily, preparing to whap Shadi with her purse. Instead her attack was prevented as the man reached out and grabbed her wrist harshly.  
  
Yugi watched this, his mouth agape. "I don't get it!" he exclaimed, immensely upset. "Shadi, you shouldn't be acting like this!! Let Tea go!!"  
  
Yami Yugi grabbed for the Egyptian's arm to restrain him and stared into his eyes. "You're not yourself," the ancient spirit said sternly.  
  
Shadi replied by pushing Yami Yugi back viciously and going for the Puzzle again.  
  
"Stop it!!" Tea screamed. "Stop it, Shadi!!!"  
  
"He's been poisoned!!" Yami Yugi yelled as he got to his feet again.  
  
"What?!" Yugi gasped as Shadi grabbed for him once more. "Shadi, you can't do this!!" He stared into the man's red eyes. "You can fight whatever it is that's attacking you! I know it's not really you doing this . . ." He cried out as he was yanked forward again, the dagger being brought up to his throat. "You'd never hurt me if you were in your right mind!!"  
  
The man wavered a bit, his eyes flickering back to their normal blue. "I . . . I cannot stop this," he murmured low, letting out a cry of anguish as his eyes became red once more. He held the dagger in front of Yugi's eyes and prepared to lower it. 


	15. Death, Deception, and Doubles

"Stop!!" Tea screamed, knocking Shadi to the ground. It only took the man a moment to regain his balance and get up, however, and he pointed the dagger warningly at her before trying to attack Yugi once more.  
  
"Shadi," Yami Yugi said in a dangerous tone, "I will be forced to harm you."  
  
"No, Yami, wait!" Yugi pleaded. "Shadi, you had control for a minute! I know you won't let this poison or whatever it is control your body!!"  
  
Shadi, apparently not hearing or understanding, advanced steadily.  
  
"He's very sick, Yugi," Yami Yugi said grimly.  
  
"I know, but he's gotta still be in there somewhere," Yugi cried, tears springing into his eyes.  
  
Tea screamed as Yugi was suddenly thrown backward onto the sidewalk by Shadi's hand.  
  
"Yugi, the Shadi we know is gone," Yami Yugi told him. "You must let me attack him before he can hurt you!"  
  
"No! There . . . there must be another way!" Yugi insisted, his heart pounding as Shadi bent over him once more with the knife. "I'm not giving up on you, Shadi!" he said firmly.  
  
To Tea's and Yami Yugi's shock, Shadi abruptly let the knife fall to the concrete and clutched at his forehead agony.  
  
"Shadi!" Yugi gasped. "Are you . . . okay?"  
  
The tortured man looked at the short boy in utter despair. "I . . . I am worthy to guard the Millennium Items . . . no longer," he cried, feeling his strength quickly depleting as his chest wound began to bother him again.  
  
"Shadi, that's not true!" Yugi exclaimed in horror. "You . . . you couldn't control yourself!"  
  
The injured guardian started to slip forward weakly. "Please . . . forgive me," he choked out, his dark hair falling over his face as he crumpled to the ground.  
  
"Oh!" Yugi and Tea said in alarm.  
  
Quickly Yami Yugi rushed over and knelt next to Shadi's still body.  
  
"Yami, what's wrong with him?" Yugi cried.  
  
Yami Yugi shook his head. "Yugi, he's . . . he's dead," the Pharaoh said in disbelief.  
  
****  
  
Joey slowly opened his eyes, looking about in confusion. "Where the heck . . . are we?!" he wondered, blinking rapidly.  
  
Tristan, who was laying next to Joey on the floor, also stirred. "Man, my head is throbbing," he declared.  
  
"Oh hello, you two."  
  
Both boys looked up to see the phony Bakura holding a disgusted Mai close in his arms.  
  
"Hey, you jerk! Let her go!!" Joey yelled indignantly, leaping to his feet.  
  
The imposter started to laugh maniacally, his voice no longer resembling Bakura's.  
  
"Oh man, I know that voice!" Joey fumed. "Seth, let Mai go NOW!!!!"  
  
"You recognized me." The impersonator snapped his fingers and instantly the hologram around him was gone, revealing his true identity. "It took you long enough."  
  
Mai pulled free angrily. "What's going on around here?!" she demanded.  
  
"Wouldn't you like to know," Seth sneered.  
  
"Actually, we would," Tristan snapped.  
  
"Well, you fools are all in my way," Seth replied, "and besides, Vivalene wanted you all here—so I decided she could have you. She'll be along soon." With that he gave a maniacal laugh and disappeared into thin air.  
  
"You know something?" Tristan said after a long silence. "I think things have just gotten a lot stranger."  
  
Joey, who was comforting Mai and making sure that she was okay, nodded emphatically and angrily. "Man, you said it, Tristan!" he growled.  
  
****  
  
Marik, standing in the hallway with Mokuba, suddenly doubled over in pain, clutching at his chest.  
  
"Marik!! What's wrong?!" Mokuba gasped in shock.  
  
The Egyptian boy straightened up slowly. "It's Rishid," he choked out. "We have a bond, the same as you have with your own brother, Mokuba. And right now I can sense that he's in terrible pain!!" Tears filled his eyes.  
  
Mokuba's eyes went wide. "What's wrong with him?!" he cried.  
  
"I don't know," Marik said grimly as he headed for the plank leading off the ship. "I only know that I must find him immediately!"  
  
"I'm coming with you!!" Mokuba cried, chasing after his friend.  
  
Marik hesitated for a moment, then shook his head. "I can't let you, Mokuba," he said quietly. "There may be danger, and I would never forgive myself if something happened to you because you came with me."  
  
Mokuba looked up at him worriedly, his blue-gray eyes shining. "But . . . but what if you get hurt, Marik?!" he wailed.  
  
"I won't," Marik promised, smiling gently. "Now, Ishizu will stay with you until I or your brother come back. Everything will be alright." And with that he hurried down the plank and into the swirling fog. Inwardly he was crying and feeling as though his heart would break. He knew Rishid was hurt very seriously and might not even survive.  
  
****  
  
When Seto approached the museum, everything looked dark and deserted. As he walked up the steps and to the door, however, it suddenly flung open and a hand reached out, yanking him inside.  
  
Seto gasped in surprise and shock. "Hey, what the . . ." He glared into the darkness. "Who's here?!" he demanded.  
  
"Hello, darling."  
  
Seto's eyes narrowed angrily. "Vivalene," he hissed. "Show your face!"  
  
The lights clicked on and the evil woman was standing there coyly, just the way Seto remembered her being the last time he had seen her.  
  
"Dear Seto Kaiba," she purred. "You're looking well."  
  
"No thanks to you," Seto snapped. "What are you doing here?!"  
  
Vivalene smiled nastily. "Well, there's just been a robbery. But by the time the police get here to investigate, you will be the only one around. They won't believe you when you tell them about me being the thief. I'm dead, after all. Or at least . . . I am on their files."  
  
"I don't care whether you're dead or alive," Seto hissed. "What do you want with me and the others?"  
  
"Well, darling . . ." Vivalene paused, then came over and ran her finger along Seto's cheek. "You and your little friends possess some things that I need in order to complete my plans, but sadly, you can't be around when I come to power. You're all simply too much of a thorn in my side."  
  
Seto grabbed Vivalene's wrist and held her hand far away from him. "You're sick," he growled.  
  
"Why, thank you, darling," Vivalene smiled, then paused. "You know, I guess I always could make it look like you had an accident instead of letting you get arrested," she mused now. "It would be so much more fun."  
  
"You'll never have that pleasure," Seto retorted. Before Vivalene could reply, the boy kicked out and shoved her backwards.   
  
"Why, Seto Kaiba," Vivalene gasped, clutching her side, "that wasn't very gentlemanly!"  
  
"You know," Seto said now, standing over her, "I make it a point to never fight with a lady. But . . . you're obviously no lady."  
  
****  
  
Marik ran through the dark, foggy streets of Domino City frantically. He knew why Rishid had left the ship.  
  
"Oh Rishid," the boy sobbed as he dashed around a corner, "you were trying to catch the ones who hurt me, weren't you?" He glanced around frantically. "Rishid!! Where are you?!"  
  
As he found himself in the less respected area of the city and rounded a corner, he suddenly heard a pained moan and dashed down into an alleyway. "Rishid?!" he screamed, dropping to his knees next to the man's brutalized body. "Rishid?!" He bent over his brother's form in horror, his lavender eyes shining with tears. "Rishid, speak to me!!"  
  
Rishid groaned, his golden eyes glazed over as blood trickled down his face. "Master . . . Master Marik . . . I . . . I have failed you . . ."  
  
Marik sobbed, noticing the machete and pulling it out of Rishid's flesh in horror. "No, my brother! You did not fail! You couldn't!!" He dropped the knife to the ground and grabbed Rishid's shoulder. "Please, Rishid!! Please don't leave me!"  
  
Rishid stared ahead blankly, no longer aware of his brother's presence.  
  
"Rishid!!" Marik screamed. "Rishid!!!! RISHID!!!!!!!"  
  
Rishid was silent for what seemed like an eternity. "Brother . . . I . . . I . . . am . . . sorry," he managed to say at last. "So . . . so very . . . sorry . . ."  
  
Marik let loose with a haunting wail and fell across the limp body, weeping uncontrollably.  
  
****  
  
Seto had just thought he had the upper hand with Vivalene when suddenly a cold hand grabbed his shoulder and a maniacal laugh echoed through the room.  
  
"What's going on?!" Seto demanded, tired of all the nonsense.  
  
Vivalene smirked, getting to her feet. "Darling, I want you to meet one of my associates," she purred.  
  
Seto whirled around to face this new threat and found himself staring at a man with jet-black hair and an evil grin.  
  
"You were the one following me!" the boy exclaimed indignantly.  
  
"That I was," the man confirmed.  
  
"What for?" Seto demanded.  
  
This new arrival only sneered, his dark violet eyes glinting nastily. "I had to see what you were up to, Seto Kaiba," he replied. "As it turns out, things have proven . . . very interesting."  
  
"How so?" Seto growled. "I don't get what you're up to!"  
  
"You know," his assailant laughed now, "you remind me of my kid brother."  
  
Seto's eyes narrowed. He didn't like where this was going. "And who's your brother?" he demanded.  
  
"Oh darling, haven't I introduced you yet?" Vivalene smirked, stepping forward. "Seto Kaiba, meet Khu." She gave a grand gesture and batted her eyes bewitchingly, but Khu didn't seem impressed at that.  
  
"Yes, I am Khu," he admitted. "And I believe you are acquainted with my brother." He grinned again. "His name is Seito, as well, you know," he remarked, "but he always preferred for everyone to call him by a different name. You, I believe, would know him as Seth."  
  
****  
  
"What?!" Yugi cried in horror. "Shadi's dead?!?! No, he can't be!!"  
  
Yami Yugi looked at him wearily. "He is, Yugi," he replied quietly.  
  
Tea was aghast. "He . . . he just dropped dead, just like that?!" she exclaimed.  
  
"He was fighting it for quite some time," Yami Yugi told them. "Most likely ever since he was stabbed."  
  
"But the doctor said he was going to get better!!" Yugi burst out.  
  
"It was probably an untraceable poison," Yami Yugi stated softly. "Shadi is—was—the guardian of the Millennium Items, and his assailant most likely decided that he had to die in order for a great and terrible power to rise."  
  
Yugi stared at Shadi's lifeless form, tears welling up in his eyes. "No!!!!" he wailed. "Shadi was innocent!! He didn't deserve this!! He shouldn't have had such a terrible death!!" The boy turned away, clenching his fists. "He shouldn't have died at all!!!"  
  
Tea laid a hand on his shoulder gently. "It's alright, Yugi," she said softly.  
  
Yugi shook his head. "I've had enough!!!!" he screamed. "I . . . I won't stand for our friends being hurt and . . . and . . ." He trailed off, the tears splashing over his cheeks. "I . . . I won't let this go on any longer!!!!!! I won't!!!!!" 


	16. Wild Ride

Uncle bent over Shadi's lifeless body grimly while Yugi and Tea stood by tensely. They had brought their friend here in the hopes that the chi wizard could help him.  
  
At last Uncle looked up in frustration. "Aiiyaa! He is dead!! I cannot bring the dead back to life!!"  
  
Yugi stared at Shadi's pale face. The man looked very much not at peace, almost as if he would rise up any moment. But he didn't. Uncle was right—Shadi was dead.  
  
Now Yugi looked up at Uncle, tears in his violet eyes. "He's dead because someone poisoned him!" the boy sobbed.  
  
"WHAT?!?!" Uncle came closer and now examined the deep wound in the dead man's chest. "AIIYAA!!!"  
  
"What is it?!" Tea gasped.  
  
"An ancient method of eliminating one's enemies, used by thieves and assassins in China," Uncle replied seriously. "They would use this poison to make people appear crazy or evil when in actuality they were helpless under the control of the poison. Many were wrongly executed because of it and the rest soon died due to the poison's other effects."  
  
"Uncle," Jackie exclaimed now as he came in and overheard, "would Daolon Wong know about this poison?!"  
  
"Aiiyaa!" Uncle whacked Jackie with his fingers. "Of course Daolon Wong knows!!"  
  
"And you said he's involved," Yugi said. "Could . . . could he have done this?!"  
  
"Tch," Jade said, popping up suddenly, "of course he did! Who else would?"  
  
Uncle looked at Yugi, Tea, and Yami Yugi soberly. "We must unite in order to defeat this evil," he announced then.  
  
****  
  
Seto looked at Khu in annoyance. "Seth is your brother? I should've guessed. You both have the same exasperating laugh."  
  
Khu grinned. "I'm much smarter than that fool," he declared.  
  
Suddenly the door burst open. "Freeze! Police!" an angry voice yelled.  
  
"Farewell, mortals," Khu smirked, vanishing into thin air.  
  
Before Vivalene could do the same, the searchlights were trained on her and Seto.  
  
"What's going on here?" one of the officers demanded sternly.  
  
"Oh Officer!" Vivalene cried. "It's simply appalling! This boy has been trying to rob the museum! I arrived just in time to stop him before he could run off with the . . ."  
  
"Save it," Seto growled. "Officers, this is Vivalene—a very dangerous criminal and attempted murderess known nationwide. If you look on your records, you'll find out all you need to know about her crimes."  
  
"Vivalene?" one of the officers repeated, narrowing his eyes as he pointed his gun at the woman threateningly. "I remember hearing about her. She caused some big commotion up in a place called Domino City."  
  
"That's right," Seto nodded. "I'm Seto Kaiba, one of the witnesses to her treachery." He clenched his fists at the recollections of what she had done in the past—and at what she was trying to do now.  
  
"Oh darling, surely you don't believe this boy," Vivalene exclaimed. "After all, if you check your records, you'll also find that Vivalene is dead!"  
  
"She came back," Seto retorted.  
  
The officers looked at each other, then back at Seto and Vivalene. "We'll have to take you both in for questioning," the first one declared, stepping forward and snapping handcuffs around their wrists. "I do hope you know of someone who will back up your story," he said to Seto, who just looked irritated.  
  
"Look, do you even know who I am?" Seto cried.  
  
"I don't care if you're the president of a multi-national company, buddy—you still have to be questioned!" the second officer said sharply. "This is a crime scene, after all."  
  
****  
  
Yami Bakura was vexed. Extremely vexed. He was standing on the docks at San Francisco Harbor, dripping wet and being adored by half a dozen cats, and trying desperately to comfort Bakura, who was still sobbing and bemoaning everyone's fate.  
  
"Don't you see, Yami?" the boy wailed. "Shadi has gone completely crazy and it's all my fault!!"  
  
"You ridiculous imbecile!!" Yami Bakura screamed in reply. "You would probably think that an earthquake in Peru was your fault as well if you heard about it!!"  
  
Bakura stared up at him, looking crushed at the insulting comment. "But Yami . . . Vivalene told me that . . ."  
  
"Why is it always about Vivalene?!" the thief snapped. "The last time she was around, all she did was tell lies! Why can't you grasp the fact that she's lying to you now?!"  
  
Bakura was silent for a long time, seeming to be lost in his own memories and thoughts. At last he said quietly, "Perhaps it's because I always have blamed myself for Amane's death."  
  
Yami Bakura sighed and sat down on a crate, motioning for the boy to sit next to him. "Bakura, there is no reason for you to blame yourself, you dolt," he growled.  
  
"Yami, you don't understand," Bakura said sadly. "I had a feeling that something would go wrong that day, but I couldn't imagine what it would be, so I didn't follow up on it." Tears spilled down his cheeks as he looked up at the ancient thief.  
  
"Fool. If you had no idea what was wrong, how on earth could you do anything to fix it?!" Yami Bakura grunted.  
  
"If I'd only gone to Amane's school to get her at the end of the day," Bakura sobbed. "I just assumed that the teacher would bring her home and everything would be alright. But she's . . . she's . . ."  
  
"Hush," Yami Bakura shot back. "You were not responsible for that. People die, you fool, and it can't be prevented. It's part of life. Get used to it," he added bitterly.  
  
Bakura sniffled. "But Yami, what if she'd still be alive today if I had acted on my feeling?!" he cried.  
  
"No one could know that, you moron," Yami Bakura said in irritation. "You should know better than to dwell on what ifs and if onlys. If everyone did that, would there be any progress at all?!" He waved his hands in a wild gesture. "Perhaps you mortals are even more foolish than I thought."  
  
"But . . . I . . . I can't help it, Yami!" Bakura said quietly. "I miss her so much. . . ." He trailed off and then suddenly gasped in horror. "Oh! The others!! They're all still in danger because of me!! Oh, why wouldn't they stop investigating?!?!?!"  
  
"There you go again!!" Yami Bakura screamed. "Everything is your fault!! YOU . . . YOU . . ." He searched for a word that would properly vent his frustration.  
  
Bakura was already leaping up and running off down the dock. "I have to save them!!" he declared, panic-stricken.  
  
"Come back here!!" Yami Bakura yelled, running forward and tackling the boy angrily. "You're in no condition to do anything!!"  
  
Bakura struggled to get free, but then flopped to the ground sadly. "Oh . . . Yami, you're right," he said dejectedly. "I'd probably just screw everything up worse."  
  
"Well, of course you will if you keep thinking that you're responsible for every bad thing that happens to them!!" Yami Bakura rumbled. "You're being completely absurd!!"  
  
Bakura was silent again, his tears splashing against the wood of the dock as he cried softly.  
  
"Oh Bakura . . ." Yami Bakura sighed and shook his head, then dragged the boy up next to him and let him cry. "Pull yourself together, you imbecile," he growled as Bakura sobbed into his chest. "Everything Vivalene told you was false. I've never seen anyone more devoted to their friends and family than you." He paused, wondering why he was allowing himself to act so soft. "If anything, you dolt, you've helped them—not hindered them."  
  
"I'm just a burden," Bakura wailed now. "They just keep having to rescue me!"  
  
"Idiot," Yami Bakura muttered. "Get up." He yanked the boy to his feet and glared at him. "I want my Ring back and you're wasting my time."  
  
Bakura nodded shakily. "Of . . . of course, Yami," he said then, following the thief over the wharfs and back to the heart of the city. "You need to get your Ring. . . . Oh! But then you'll probably get hurt fighting Shadi!!"  
  
Yami Bakura growled. "No I won't," he insisted. "He'll be the one getting hurt!!"  
  
****  
  
Marik held Rishid's still body close to his own, wondering whatever he was going to do. "Rishid," he wailed. "Please wake up, my brother! Please!!"  
  
"Oh, poor Marik," a voice purred that sounded hauntingly like his own. The boy looked up and found that he was staring at himself.  
  
Instinctively he wrapped his arms tighter around his brother's lifeless form and glared up at this unwelcome intruder. "What do you want?!" he growled.  
  
"Just this." The double bent down and picked up the blood-stained machete, probably the worst thing he could have done under the circumstances.  
  
Marik's eyes flashed in outrage. "You!!" he cried. "You did this!!"  
  
"Perhaps I did." The double twirled his weapon around and looked at Rishid's body uncompassionately. "And I spoke like you the entire time to make him feel as though his adopted brother was attacking him."  
  
Marik snarled. "Why?! Why would you hurt him?! He has done nothing to you!!"  
  
"Perhaps I enjoy causing torment." He turned and was about to walk off when Marik spoke again.  
  
"You are a coward," the boy said low. "A sadistic coward!!" His voice raised as the fire in his eyes became more insistent. "And I demand to know who you truly are!!" Were it not that he was concerned with tending to Rishid's wounds, he would have leaped up and attacked the foul person.  
  
"You met me before, you know," the man said, "back on the cruise ship. Do you remember? I was the one talking on the phone in the ancient Egyptian language—which, incidentally, I believe you actually do understand."  
  
Marik continued to try getting the bleeding to stop. "You were arrested," he retorted.  
  
"Oh, I had ways of getting away again," the imposter grinned, disappearing into the fog. "So sorry about your brother." And with a maniacal laugh, he was gone.  
  
Marik glared after him, feeling the rage boiling within his heart, and then looked down at Rishid tearfully. "Rishid," he whispered in disbelief.  
  
****  
  
Yami Yugi was just pulling a sheet over Shadi's dead body when he noticed something odd. "Hmm? What's this?" Narrowing his eyes, the Pharaoh reached down and pulled the Millennium Ring out from where it had been wrapped in Shadi's robes.  
  
Yugi gasped. "The Ring!!" he burst out.  
  
"Shadi must have attacked Bakura and his Yami before he came after us," Yami Yugi muttered.  
  
Tea was about to reply when her cell phone rang. Confused, she picked it up and answered. "Hello?" When she heard who was on the other end, she nearly dropped the device in shock.  
  
"Tea?"  
  
The girl's eyes went wide. "Kaiba?!" she exclaimed loudly, causing everyone else in the room to stare at her. "Where are you?!"  
  
"Downtown," Seto replied after a short pause. "Look, have you seen Wheeler anywhere?"  
  
"Joey?" Tea shook her head. "He hasn't been around at all!"  
  
Seto grunted. "I should've figured," he muttered. After another pause, he said at last, "Look, I'm not allowed to say what's happening over the phone, but you need to come down to the police station."  
  
"Wait a minute—what are you doing at the police station?!" Tea demanded.  
  
"Never mind that," Seto said in irritation. "But if you would just get down here immediately, it would be much appreciated."  
  
Tea blinked. "Alright," she agreed. "I'll be there."  
  
"What did Kaiba want?" Yugi exclaimed when Tea had hung up the phone. Tea explained and then headed for the door.  
  
"Are you sure you should go there by yourself?" Yugi worried. "You don't know what might happen!"  
  
"Hey," Tea smiled, "it's the police station. What could happen there?! I'll be fine."  
  
Uncle nodded curtly. "You need to come with me, Yugi!" he declared. "We must find Daolon Wong and his associates!"  
  
Tea looked concerned at that. "Be careful, Yugi," she pleaded as she hurried out the door to a taxi.  
  
****  
  
Seto sat in the chair angrily, his arms crossed. He and Vivalene had both been questioned over and over again and the police officers seemed more inclined to believe her than him. They did admit, however, that she matched the description given of Vivalene in their records and that if someone else would come in and positively identify her as the wanted criminal, she would be arrested.  
  
At last he saw through the glass wall that Tea was walking in and speaking to the desk sergeant. Soon she was directed into the room next to his. Obviously the police didn't want her speaking to him before seeing Vivalene. They hadn't even allowed him to tell her anything about Vivalene at all on the telephone, the reason being that they didn't want him to try setting things up to get the woman falsely identified.  
  
Shortly afterward the door was unlocked and one of the officers from the museum came in to get him. "Alright, Mr. Kaiba," he said, "you're free to go."  
  
Seto grunted and stood up. "It's about time," he said, walking out into the front office.  
  
"Kaiba!" Tea burst out. "You never said you were in jail!"  
  
"I wasn't," Seto snorted. "Just being questioned."  
  
The twosome walked outside and into the waiting taxi. "Take us back to Uncle's Rare Finds in Chinatown," Tea requested.  
  
"Right away," the driver said in a vaguely familiar voice.  
  
It wasn't long before they realized that they were going in completely the wrong direction.  
  
"Hey!" Tea cried. "This isn't the right way!!"  
  
"I know," the driver smirked, adjusting the rear view mirror to look back at them, his violet eyes glinting in amusement.  
  
Seto's eyes narrowed angrily. "Khu!!" he growled. 


	17. Dangerous Woman

"So what's the plan, Uncle?" Jade asked, trying to look up at the table where her great-uncle was concocting a locator spell.  
  
"We must find Daolon Wong and uncover his evil plot!" Uncle replied solemnly.  
  
"But Uncle," Jackie spoke up, "I thought you took his spellcasting powers away!"  
  
"A dark chi wizard such as he finds ways to get them back!" Uncle retorted in a grim, mysterious tone.  
  
At that moment the door burst open and Bakura and his Yami ran in. Yami Yugi looked up, his eyes narrowed.  
  
"Oh!!" Bakura cried in horror when he saw Shadi's dead body on a table in the corner.  
  
Yami Bakura glanced at the deceased man as well, then turned to glare at Yami Yugi. "Where is my Ring?" he demanded. "You must have taken it from him, Pharaoh!"  
  
Angrily Uncle reached out and whacked the old tomb raider with his fingers. "Uncle must have silence!!!!" he yelled, scrutinizing Yami Bakura in a way that reminded Yugi of the expression If looks could kill.  
  
Slowly Yami Yugi pulled the Millennium Ring out from where he had kept it inside his jacket. "Here is the Ring," he said quietly. Yami Bakura snatched it with a growl and placed it around his neck, still fuming about being whapped by Uncle.  
  
Yugi watched everything silently, his violet eyes wide. There had just been too much happening in the last few hours—Uncle's locator spell, Vivalene's reappearance, Shadi's crazed rampage and death . . .  
  
Uncle looked up and spoke, breaking Yugi's train of thought. "The locator spell is ready," he declared. "Now we will find Daolon Wong!"  
  
****  
  
"There's gotta be some way out of here!" Tristan cried, running to every corner of the room in search of an exit.  
  
"Maybe the only way out is to magically poof," Joey retorted.  
  
"Oh, now, come on, Joey," Mai said, rolling her eyes, but she had to admit that she was thinking the same thing.  
  
At that moment there was a maniacal cackle and the entire wall broke in as a taxi crashed through it.  
  
"What the heck?!" Joey burst out.  
  
The smoldering door opened and Khu stepped out, looking a bit dizzy but otherwise quite alright for being the ancient spirit he was. "Ah, so Seth did capture you," he smirked. "At least my idiot brother was able to handle that assignment!"  
  
"Look, whaddya want with us?!" Joey demanded.  
  
"Me?" Khu shrugged. "I don't want anything with you. You all are nothing to me. Seth's associate wanted you . . . for revenge, I believe. You know, I'm actually not after power, as my brother Seth is. In spite of the legends circling around about me, the only thing I ever wanted was to dethrone the Pharaoh."  
  
"But what the heck for?!" Joey yelled, ignoring the revelation that Seth and Khu were brothers.  
  
Khu opened the back door of the taxi and let Seto and Tea tumble out. "That . . . is something you may learn later," he replied, turning to go.  
  
"Joey!" Tea exclaimed as she looked up, frazzled. "And Tristan and Mai!! How did you all get here?!"  
  
"Never mind that," Mai replied. "Why on earth are you riding around in a taxi driven by that madman?!"  
  
Seto grunted and stood up as well. "That's not important," he said grouchily. "What's important is finding out what these people are after."  
  
"Hey," Tea exclaimed, "I just realized! That guy who kidnapped us—he's the one who caught me when I was losing my balance during the earthquake!"  
  
Joey blinked. "Eh? What'd he do that for?" he asked, scratching his head.  
  
"Don't look at me," Tea replied, throwing her hands up in confusion. "Maybe he just didn't want me knocking him over."  
  
"His name is Khu," Seto muttered.  
  
"What kinda weird name is that?!" Joey exclaimed, trying several times to pronounce it properly and failing.  
  
"It's Egyptian," Mai said dryly.  
  
"I *know* that!!" Joey yelled crossly.  
  
A frighteningly familiar laugh echoed throughout the room. "Now, now, darlings. No need to get so angry all over a little name."  
  
Everyone whirled as Vivalene suddenly appeared, cackling on a balcony high above them.  
  
"What the . . ." Seto's eyes narrowed. "You were just arrested!!"  
  
Vivalene smirked at him. "I told you I had ways of getting free." She tossed a small object into the air and then caught it again. "The power of invisibility in the palm of my hand. Now you see me . . ." She closed her fist around it tightly and suddenly was gone from view. ". . . Now you don't!" Triumphantly she reappeared standing next to Seto, who looked at her with repulsion.  
  
"What is that thing?!" Joey demanded.  
  
"It's a talisman, darling," Vivalene told him. "It endows me with magic powers."  
  
"Yeah?" Tristan narrowed his eyes. "Well, I have the feeling that you're not even supposed to be using it!"  
  
"Oh, darling, really! You're so suspicious," Vivalene cooed. "Of course I'm supposed to use it! I'm supposed to use whatever means necessary to get out of my predicaments."  
  
"Well, maybe you'd care to explain to all of us what your plan is!" Tea cried, stepping forward.  
  
"Maybe," Vivalene agreed, "or maybe not." She turned slightly.  
  
"You told me that we had something you needed," Seto reminded her.  
  
"Oh, that's right, darling," Vivalene smiled creepily. "Your lives. See, as long as you're all still roaming about, I'll never have what I desire."  
  
"So you're gonna kill us all?!" Joey said angrily, narrowing his eyes.  
  
"That's right, Joseph." Vivalene stroked his cheek and he pulled away in disgust. "Of course from the Millennium Item holders I want something more."  
  
"So you're after the Items too?" Tristan crossed his arms. "I should've guessed."  
  
"Oh, not just the Items, darling." Vivalene squeezed the talisman again and vanished from sight, tho they could still hear her voice. "I want all the things of power that I can get."  
  
"You and Seth are a good match, then," Mai remarked.  
  
Vivalene materialized up on the balcony, a thoughtful smirk twisting her features. "Yes," she mused, "we are, aren't we. Well, enjoy yourselves, darlings. I'm sure that your friends will all be along soon."  
  
"We have to warn them!!" Tea cried, reaching for her cell phone. To her shock, she found it was gone.  
  
Vivalene held it up triumphantly. "Being invisible really does have its many advantages," she sneered as she disappeared through a door.  
  
"Oh man, this just keeps getting better and better," Joey said in vexation.  
  
****  
  
As Marik continued to cradle Rishid's still body, he desperately tried again to stop the bleeding, all the while weeping over the man's sacrifice. "All you wanted was to bring those confounded thugs to justice," he whispered. Silence answered him and Marik wondered what on earth he would do. He couldn't lift Rishid all by himself.  
  
"Marik?"  
  
The boy looked up once more and was relieved to see that instead of the evil double returning, Mako Tsunami was standing there in concern.  
  
"What has happened, my friend?" Mako asked kindly, kneeling down next to them.  
  
"Rishid was hurt because he was looking for the thugs who beat me up earlier today," Marik replied, tears streaming down his cheeks. "I . . . I'm afraid he may be almost dead!" The boy shook his head sadly. "He is too heavy for me to lift. I'm afraid I'm going to hurt him worse!"  
  
Carefully Mako checked Rishid's pulse and then his wounds. "Come, Marik," he said gently. "I will help you get him to a hospital. We can still save his life if we hurry."  
  
"Thank you," Marik whispered gratefully as he and Mako each took one of Rishid's arms and carefully lifted him up. "This is the second time you have been around when I desperately needed your help. I am forever in your debt."  
  
****  
  
"Ishizu?"  
  
The Egyptian woman turned to see Mokuba looking up at her worriedly. "Yes?" she asked compassionately, seeing the worried look in the young boy's wide blue-gray eyes.  
  
Mokuba ran to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Ishizu, what if my brother isn't okay? And . . ." He trailed off, not wanting to worry her about the welfare of Marik and Rishid as well.  
  
Ishizu held Mokuba comfortingly and ran her hands through his long black hair. "It will be alright, little Mokuba," she whispered. "Your brother will be fine. And so will Marik and Rishid."  
  
Mokuba smiled weakly. "You really think so?"  
  
"Of course," Ishizu replied, though inwardly she did fear for Rishid's life. She, too, had sensed that he had been gravely injured and might be at death's door.  
  
"Ah," a new, strange voice purred, "a Millennium Item holder. I should like to possess your Item for myself."  
  
Both Ishizu and Mokuba looked up, startled, as a man emerged from a wall.  
  
"What is your business here?" Ishizu demanded.  
  
"Did I not make myself clear?" The eerie man smiled nastily and held out a hand possessed of long and broken fingernails. "I want your Millennium Tauk, good woman."  
  
"You shall not have it!" Ishizu cried indignantly, trying to back up.  
  
Without warning, she and Mokuba were both sent flying backward into the wall. Both of them watched in disbelief and alarm as the actual plaster became gooey and soft just long enough to wrap itself around their limbs and waists before hardening again.  
  
"What are you doing?!" Mokuba screamed, struggling wildly.  
  
"Preparing to take the Millennium Tauk," the weird man declared, stepping forward and reaching for the golden necklace Ishizu was wearing. Ishizu, not knowing what else to do under the circumstances, lashed out and bit the man's hand harshly. With a cry of pain, he drew back and growled angrily.  
  
"Get him, Ishizu!!" Mokuba grinned.  
  
"You will suffer for that," the wizard—for that was surely what he was—yelled loudly, raising the sceptre he held in his other hand.  
  
Just as he was about to most certainly blast them both into a painful oblivion, a stern man suddenly appeared at the door and intercepted the blow with a weapon of his own.  
  
"What?!" the wizard exclaimed in disbelief. "My spell . . ."  
  
". . . was just brought to a halt." The new arrival stared at him stonily. "Daolon Wong, you have been using your mastery of dark arts to create destruction and mayhem for many years."  
  
Daolon narrowed his eyes and glared at this new threat. "How do you know my name?!" he demanded.  
  
"I know of many things," the stranger replied from where he was still hidden in the shadows. "Not the least of which is that you have now failed in your latest quest."  
  
"Bah!" Daolon growled. "Just wait and see, mysterious warrior!" With that he disappeared as suddenly and strangely as he had come.  
  
****  
  
"Aiiiyaaa!!!!" Uncle screamed as his locator began to glow brightly. "Daolon Wong and his evil forces are near!"  
  
"Really?!" Yugi cried, his violet eyes wide. "Where are they?!"  
  
Uncle paused as he studied the locator seriously. At last he said, "They are just to the right, most likely in that old, boarded-up warehouse."  
  
That was when Jackie's cell phone rang. "Hello?" he said curiously, wondering who was calling and hoping that it wasn't Tohru saying that Jade had escaped again.  
  
"Jackie?" a familiar voice asked.  
  
Jackie blinked. "Oh! Captain Black!" he exclaimed. "Is . . . anything wrong?" he asked worriedly.  
  
"Jackie, Jade hasn't been into the vault again, has she?" Captain Black asked seriously.  
  
"Why, no, she hasn't!" Jackie answered in surprise. "At least . . . not to my knowledge. . . . Why do you ask?"  
  
"Jackie, we have a big problem." Captain Black paused before finally blurting out, "All the Talismans are missing!!"  
  
Jackie nearly dropped the phone. "WHAT?!?!?!?!" he screamed, his eyes bugging out.  
  
Yugi, his Yami, Bakura, Yami Bakura, and Uncle all turned to stare. "Aiiyaa!! Jackie!! You want entire neighborhood to know we are here?!" Uncle exclaimed grouchily.  
  
"Uncle, the Talismans are missing!" Jackie replied, placing his hand over the phone.  
  
"AIIIIIIIIYAAAAAAAAAA!!!!" Uncle's ensuing scream of horror echoed loudly off every building and tree.  
  
****  
  
Joey blinked. "Did you guys just hear something?!" he exclaimed.  
  
"Yeah," Mai said, then paused. "It sounded like some kind of martial arts scream," she realized in surprise.  
  
"Oh man, don't tell me we've gotta deal with ninjas too!!" Tristan growled, narrowing his eyes.  
  
"No," Vivalene purred as she suddenly appeared again, "but you do have to deal with me, darlings." She held up another small device in her hand.  
  
"More invisibility. Big deal," Joey said, snorting loudly.  
  
Vivalene smirked. "Oh, but you're wrong, darling. This one has nothing to do with something as innocent as becoming invisible." She paused as she watched Seth, Khu, and Marik's double and his goons all materialize out of the shadows. "Well, it looks like the gang's all here," she remarked, tossing her hair and winking. "I suppose it's time for the fireworks to begin."  
  
Before anyone could ask what she meant, the skylight broke as Yami Bakura and Bakura crashed through, landing right near to where she was on the balcony.  
  
"You're right about that," the old thief sneered as he stepped closer. "And you will pay for everything you've done to torment this boy." He indicated Bakura, who was standing tall and firm right behind him.  
  
"Oh, you care about him like a big brother," Vivalene observed. "How sweet."  
  
Everyone down below was just staring up at the new arrivals in utter shock and disbelief. "Hey!" Joey cried. "Where'd you guys come from?!"  
  
Yami Bakura ignored him as he stood over Vivalene threateningly.  
  
Suddenly the woman gave a wicked laugh. "Oh, don't take another step, any of you!" she cried. "The talisman I have in my hand holds the power of combustion, and if anyone moves, they go up in smoke!!" 


	18. Talisman Power!

"Combustion?!" Tea shrieked.  
  
"That's right," Vivalene smirked.  
  
Bakura narrowed his eyes. "Vivalene, if you do anything to harm my friends, I swear I'll . . ."  
  
"You'll do nothing!" she snapped at him suddenly. "If you do, it will be the utter downfall of everyone you're trying to save!"  
  
Bakura blinked and staggered back, looking as if someone had punched him hard.  
  
Yami Bakura's eyes flamed. "You are asking for trouble, woman!!" With that he lunged forward and grabbed her wrist harshly, trying to wrench the talisman out of her hand.  
  
"YAMI!!!" Bakura screamed, his soft eyes wide and alarmed. "You're going to get hurt, Yami!! What if the talisman power activates and . . ."  
  
The thief paid him no heed as the struggle continued. Suddenly the small, deadly object flew out of Vivalene's hand and soared down to where the others were.  
  
"Everyone scatter!" Seto directed harshly, and it didn't take a whole lot to make the other teens obey.  
  
A wicked laugh was heard from above and then rays of fire shot down all around them, completely incinerating several crates behind Joey and Tristan.  
  
"YAAAAAA!!!" the Brooklyn boy yelped in panic, rushing away before he became the next victim.  
  
"What is that?!" Tristan cried in disbelief.  
  
"Heat beam eyes," Marik's double sneered from the catwalk he had managed to climb up to. "Would you like a more personal demonstration of their power?"  
  
"I don't think so," Tristan retorted.  
  
The imposter sneered maliciously. "It just so happens that I'm giving out free samples," he declared.  
  
"STOP!!"  
  
Everyone froze and turned to see what was happening as Yugi, his Yami, and Jackie and Uncle burst in.  
  
"The Talismans should not be used in this way," Jackie cried. "How on earth did you even get them?!"  
  
Vivalene smirked. "Oh . . . with a little help from my *friends*, darling, anything is possible." She laughed raucously, pushing Yami Bakura backward and nearly off the balcony. Bakura let out a cry of panic and grabbed the tomb raider's wrist just before he pitched over.  
  
"Yeah?" Tristan's eyes narrowed. "Well, with *our* friends, nothing is gonna stop us from taking you down!!"  
  
"We shall see, won't we?" Vivalene stood up and took four more talismans out of her purse.  
  
"She must have them all!!" Jackie exclaimed in horror. Quickly he began cleverly scaling the wall, trying to figure out how to take the woman by surprise. Before he could finish his ascent, something caught him sharply in the back and he started to fall. "What *was* that?!" he gasped as he frantically grabbed hold of a nearby plank just in time.  
  
"Oh . . . just me," Seth purred, floating in the air behind him. "Levitation plus speed equals flight." He held up two talismans triumphantly.  
  
"Yeah? Well, how about a little free-fall!! HIIYAA!!!"  
  
Without warning Jade somersaulted out of seemingly nowhere, kicking Seth roughly in the chest. Gasping, the priest's grip on the talismans loosened and they went flying over to the balcony, one falling to the floor and the other clanking Bakura on the forehead. Seth, meanwhile, nearly pitched to the floor far below—only he swiftly chanted a spell and managed to get himself lowered painlessly.  
  
Bakura blinked as the talisman hit him and then grabbed for it, staring at the rooster picture engraven on the front. "Oh my," he said, "what on earth . . ."  
  
Suddenly the boy let out a shriek as he began uncontrollably rising into the air.  
  
"You moron!!!" Yami Bakura yelled. "Come down here this instant!!"  
  
"I don't know how!!" Bakura retorted.  
  
"Aiiyaa!! He cannot control the talisman power!!" Uncle cried.  
  
Vivalene cackled. "Oh, you are so amusing," she declared, suddenly whirling around and dropping gracefully to the floor below. "But I'm really tired of letting things drag on like this." With that she sprang into the taxi and revved the engine, heading with unimaginable speed straight for Tea and Yami Bakura, who had followed her off the balcony.  
  
"No!! Stop!!" Bakura screamed.  
  
"She's powered up the car with the rabbit talisman!!" Jackie realized, trying desperately to get to her to stop this.  
  
Bakura didn't even think about what he was doing. Even though he hadn't been able to control the levitation powers before, now he soared down gracefully like an eagle and pushed his two friends out of the way barely in time.  
  
Tea gasped as she was thrown into some crates. "Whoa, that was too close!!" she said shakily, looking around.  
  
Yami Bakura was nearby with Bakura sprawled across his chest. "Get up, you fool," he ordered as Vivalene turned and headed for them again. "Get up!!"  
  
Bakura groaned and forced his eyes open, seeing the taxi barreling for them head-on. Several of the henchmen working for Marik's double had already been hit, and they lay scattered around the floor in various states of pain and anguish. "Yami, take Tea and go!!" he cried. "Please!!" With that the boy sprang forward and crashed through the windshield of the taxi, startling Vivalene and making her swerve the automobile out of the way.  
  
Meanwhile, Uncle was fighting with Daolon Wong, who had just made his appearance.  
  
"I should have known you would come to thwart my plans, good chi wizard!" Daolon cried in annoyance.  
  
Uncle glared as he powered up his blowfish. "Why have you joined forces with these?!" he demanded, indicating the other members of the "team."  
  
Daolon sneered. "Perhaps I am using them all as puppets," he said smoothly, "and once I have everything I desire, I will . . . dispose of them."  
  
Seto was scrapping with Khu fiercely when a talisman suddenly flew into the air and landed in his hand.  
  
"Hey, what the . . ." Seto barely had time to look at the picture of the sheep on it before Khu used a harsh blast of dark lightning, sending him to the floor.  
  
Or was he on the floor?! Seto glanced around in disbelief as he realized he was floating in the air. Deciding he must have found the infamous levitation talisman, he turned to attack Marik's double, who was still on the catwalk and preparing to use Heat Beam Eyes on everyone once more. When Seto tried to tackle him, however, he found that absolutely nothing happened. Narrowing his eyes, he growled and tried again. Marik's double didn't even appear to notice him there.   
  
"Hey, what's going on?!" Seto screamed at last, but no one even looked up.  
  
"Big brother!! Big brother!!" Mokuba's voice shrieked as he and Ishizu dashed into the fray.  
  
Tristan, who had just punched out one of the lackeys, looked up in surprise. "Mokuba!! What are you doing here?!"  
  
The younger boy didn't answer, however, as he ran to Seto's still body on the floor and shook him frantically. "Seto!! Seto, get up!!"  
  
Seto, up in the air, blinked and floated down to where his brother was. "Come on, kid, I'm right here!" he cried, then trailed off as he suddenly realized what had happened.  
  
"Joey," Mokuba sobbed, seeing the blonde boy nearby, "please come help me!! I can't wake him up!!"  
  
"Eh?" Joey hurried over and knelt down. "Kaiba?! Come on, man, this isn't funny!!" He noticed the sheep talisman in the other boy's hand and stared. "Hey, I wonder what this does . . ." he mused.  
  
"No, wait, Wheeler!!" Seto screamed in vain, knowing that Joey couldn't hear him. "Don't . . ."  
  
Joey grabbed the hard object and held it tightly, then fell forward and collapsed across Seto's body. Mokuba gasped and screamed in horror.  
  
"Hey, what gives?!" Joey exclaimed as he found himself floating. "Why am I . . ." He glanced down at his body. "YAAAAAA!!!! I'm dead!!!"  
  
Seto rolled his eyes. "You've astral-projected, Wheeler," he replied.  
  
"Astral-projected?!" Joey stared at Seto in disbelief.  
  
"That's right," Seto nodded. "Now get back in your body!!!"  
  
Joey shrugged and flew down, entering his body and then getting up in confusion. Seto then followed suit, looking immensely irritated at this whole entire mess.  
  
"Big brother!!" Mokuba exclaimed in relief, hugging the older boy tightly.  
  
Seto smiled and hugged him back, then looked up to see what else was happening.  
  
Vivalene growled angrily as her taxi crashed into the wall. "You miserable brat!!" she screamed, grabbing Bakura harshly and trying to strangle him. "Now look what you've done!!!"  
  
Bakura struggled. "I won't let you harm my friends!!" he cried with a sob, feeling the darkness start to close in as his breathing was cut off.  
  
"LET HIM GO!!!!" Yami Bakura yelled in rage, crashing into the cab and knocking Vivalene out onto the floor. The thief smirked nastily as he pulled out his deck. "You know, I've been waiting to use this on someone who truly deserves it," he hissed, pulling out the Man-Eater Bug and summoning it into the room.  
  
Vivalene screamed as it grabbed her in its huge pincers, raising her high above the floor. In desperation she threw a talisman at Khu. "Here!" she yelled.  
  
Khu took it and blinked. "What does it do . . ." he started to ask, but then gasped as a bright light encircled him, tearing at his very heart and soul.  
  
Seth watched in disbelief as two Khus fell out of the light. "What the . . . now there's TWO of him!!!" he burst out in astonishment. "As if one wasn't enough!!"  
  
"AIIYAA!! It is the Yin/Yang talisman!!" Uncle cried. "He has been separated into his good side and his evil side!!!"   
  
Daolon Wong smirked. "How amusing," he declared.  
  
The two Khus stood up, looking around in confusion.  
  
"What is all this fighting?!" one of them gasped. This one had overly bright, cute eyes and a sweet expression. "This is terrible!!"  
  
The other one looked more like Khu's real self, only much meaner and more evil. "What a wimp," he remarked, pushing the first one backward. "I'll pulverize you just for the fun of it!!"  
  
Seth just stared, his blue eyes wide in bewilderment. "And he thinks I'M an idiot!" he cried, watching as the bad Khu beat his good half into submission.  
  
Seto observed with much amusement, crossing his arms. "You know, I didn't even know he was capable of having a good side," he remarked.  
  
Without warning he was whacked by Uncle. "Of course he has good side!!" the elderly man declared. "Everyone has good side!!"  
  
Marik's double now cackled maniacally as he leaped down to stand in the middle of the fray. "You're missing a couple of your number, aren't you?" he taunted, looking right at little Yugi.  
  
"What do you mean?" the boy cried, narrowing his eyes.  
  
"Oh . . . just that the boy who looks like me and his poor servant aren't here," the imposter said smoothly. "I guess the real Marik Ishtar has found that Rishid is dead."  
  
"What?!" Yugi screamed, tears welling up in his eyes. "What did you do to him?!"  
  
"Stabbed him, of course," the impersonator sneered malevolently. "Unfortunately, tho, not with a poisoned blade." He started to laugh. "Poor Shadi," he jeered. "Imagine, him turning against everything his bloodline has been protecting for all these years and trying to get the Millennium Items for himself! Oh, but that's right—he couldn't control himself, now, could he?"  
  
Yugi couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You killed him too!!!" he wailed, the tears spilling over. "You killed Shadi and now you've killed Rishid!! Why?!"  
  
"They were in my way," Marik's double replied. "My master was actually the one who poisoned Shadi . . . but I slipped in an extra dose."  
  
"Perhaps," a cold voice said from the doorway, "you think to rethink your methods."  
  
Everyone looked up as a silhouetted figure stepped into the light, revealing his tangled black curls and piercing blue eyes.  
  
"Shadi!!!" Yugi gasped. 


	19. Last Surprises

Marik's double went white as a sheet. "You!!!!" he cried in utter shock.  
  
The formerly dead man narrowed his eyes. "Yes, it is I. And now I know of your true identity. It pains me to know that you, my old colleague, have turned against me so much that you would try to utterly destroy me."  
  
The imposter ignored those comments. "But how?!" he demanded. "That poison was infallible!!"  
  
Shadi undid his robe slightly, letting the bandages covering his wound be revealed. "While it is true that your poison invariably causes first chaos, madness, and then death, you underestimate the powers of the forces of good. It was not my time to leave this world. I have been returned."  
  
Yugi grinned, so relieved that Shadi was alright.  
  
Marik's double only snarled in response. "So what? I can just kill you again!!" He was about to use his Heat Beam Eyes when Shadi retaliated with the Ankh, using an energy burst to redirect the blast at the wall. There was a loud splintering sound as a hole tore straight through.  
  
"Whoa, man," Joey gasped, his eyes wide as the thought of what it could do to him.  
  
Suddenly Vivalene broke free of the Man-Eater Bug's grasp and stood in front of Yami Bakura. "Ha! You fool!!" she crowed. "I have the Immortality Talisman! You can't do anything to me as long as I possess it!!" Yami Bakura stood his ground, his eyes narrowed as Vivalene stepped out of the way. "However, you, I believe, are not possessing one."  
  
"YAMI!!!" Bakura screamed, realizing what Vivalene was up to. Pushing the thief out of the way, he stood in the path of the giant bug instead.  
  
"Bakura, you moron!!!" Yami Bakura yelled, grabbing the boy out of the way just as the bug slashed at him. Bakura cried out in agony as he felt it rip into his flesh.  
  
"Be gone," Yami Bakura hissed, forcing the bug back into its card. He held Bakura gently and rolled up his pant leg, examining the wound.  
  
"Let me see," Vivalene purred. "If I'm not mistaken, the Man-Eater Bug's attack is poisonous. Oh, such a pity that you don't have anything to use to heal him!"  
  
"Shut up," Yami Bakura growled, cradling Bakura and trying to stop the bleeding.  
  
"Yami," Bakura whispered shakily, "am I going to die?"  
  
"No," Yami Bakura snapped. "Now don't try to talk. Go to sleep, Bakura. Just . . . sleep." He brushed his hand over the boy's eyelids, closing them. Bakura gave a little sigh and soon was fast asleep in his Yami's arms. "Brave fool," he muttered when he was certain Bakura wouldn't hear him. Hopefully, he thought, Bakura was finally over the damage Vivalene had done to his mind.  
  
Now Vivalene smirked to herself as she used the invisibility talisman to reappear back on the balcony overlooking where Seth and the two Khus were standing. "Well, darlings," she called loudly, "it certainly has been fun seeing you all again. And it's been fun joining forces with the likes of you two brothers! Or would it be three brothers?" She laughed at her joke.  
  
"Shut up," the bad Khu growled, "or I'll . . ."  
  
"Stop!!" the good Khu gasped. "You can't hurt a lady!!"  
  
"You two are giving me a headache!!" Seth screamed. "How do you put them back together?!"  
  
Seto smirked at him. "Wouldn't you like to know," he said, even though he had no clue himself.  
  
"Just have them squeeze the talisman again," Vivalene purred.  
  
"I'm not going back with a namby-pamby goody-two-shoes like him!!!" the bad Khu growled.  
  
"Please don't force me back!!!" the good Khu wailed.  
  
"Oh, just do it for crying out loud!!!" Seth yelled, forcing both halves to place their hands around the talisman. There was another bright flash of light and one Khu dropped down out of it, blinking in confusion.  
  
Vivalene turned back to look at the others. "They are so amusing, aren't they. Sadly . . ." She paused, taking out a deadly machine gun. "Only one of us is fated to possess the treasures in the world . . . and that one shall be me!!!"  
  
Seth glared up at her. "I already knew you were planning to turn traitor," he declared, powering up his dark magic skills.  
  
"Then you should have been more careful, hmm? You know, I was the one who knocked you off the balcony. Poor pity that Nuru had to go and heal you." Vivalene sneered. "But she won't be healing you today. Daolon Wong has seen to that."  
  
"What?!?!" Seth cried, but then he was caught with a deadly round of Vivalene's machine gun fire before he could defend himself. The priest stared at the blood in disbelief and then crumpled to the floor.  
  
Khu just gazed at his brother in shock. "Seth?" he growled, kicking at the younger man's body gently. "Seth?! Get up, you moron!!!"  
  
Vivalene only laughed. "He can't, I'm afraid. And you're next!!" She pointed the gun at the dark-haired man wickedly.  
  
Khu looked up, his eyes flaming. "I don't think so," he snarled, drawing his sceptre and shooting the gun out of her hand. "You're going down, woman."  
  
The others just watched in astonishment.  
  
"So, uh, what do you think he's angrier about?" Joey wondered. "That Vivalene betrayed him or that she shot his brother like a half dozen times?"  
  
"Does he care about his brother?" Tea retorted.  
  
Khu leaped up onto the balcony and grabbed Vivalene viciously. "You made a drastic mistake," he hissed, restraining her against the wall with his sceptre's powers and then snatching the bag containing the talismans. "You're in over your head this time!"  
  
Uncle, who had been making his way up to the balcony, now cornered him. "You will now be handing those over to me!!" he said threateningly, using his blowfish to make the satchel float over to him.  
  
Undaunted, Khu revealed that he was still holding one that he'd apparently snuck out of the bag. "I've got what I want," he barked, lightly dropping down next to his brother's bleeding body and making them both vanish in a poof of smoke.  
  
"That was . . . weird," Mai remarked.  
  
Vivalene, released from the sceptre's powers, screamed as she pitched forward off the balcony. To her shock, Yami Yugi caught her before she could hit the floor far below.  
  
"You," he declared, "have been de-powered. And now you will be sent to prison, where you belong."  
  
Vivalene sneered. "Just wait, darling. Before you know it I'll be back again!"  
  
Daolon Wong marched over to her angrily. "You were going to betray us all?!?!"  
  
"Well, of course," Vivalene purred. "Surely you didn't think I wouldn't!"  
  
"Daolon Wong never trusts anyone but himself," the wizard growled. "But you will pay for your attempted betrayal!!"  
  
Yami Yugi shook his head and shot his hand out, using magic to throw Daolon against the wall. "No one will die here today," he said solemnly.  
  
Shadi was still matching wits with Marik's double. "You have proven to me what sort of man you truly are," he said quietly. "You were never my ally or friend." The horrid monster began to rise from inside the Millennium Scales, grabbing for the scoundrel. "Your heart is black." Shadi turned away, preferring not to watch the creature's actions.  
  
"No!! Wait!!" the man screamed as he struggled. "I . . . I didn't mean any of it!! I . . . I . . ."  
  
Shadi shook his head. "The monster knows when you lie. It relishes being with its own kind."  
  
"But . . . but . . . I don't look like it at all!!" Marik's double protested, still struggling. "I'm not anything like it!!!"  
  
"Your soul is." Shadi winced as he heard the monster hold the man tightly and disappear. Yugi almost thought he saw a tear in the mysterious Egyptian's eye, but then it was gone.  
  
"Shadi? Are . . . are you okay?" Yugi asked worriedly, going over to him.  
  
Shadi looked up. "You are blessed, little Yugi," he said at last. "You have true friends who will never betray you." He turned away. "I am no longer worthy to be the guardian of the Millennium Items. I have disgraced all of my forefathers with my earlier actions today."  
  
Yugi was aghast. "No, Shadi!!" he cried. "You couldn't help it!!"  
  
"I am supposed to keep the Items safe. Instead I tried to steal them for myself." Slowly Shadi took the Ankh off from around his neck and handed it to Yugi. "You are much more worthy to have this than I am."  
  
Yugi looked down at the Millennium Ankh and then back up at Shadi, tears in his violet eyes. "I can't take this!!" he sobbed. "It's yours!! You're the guardian!!"  
  
Shadi shook his head and started to walk off.  
  
"Shadi, wait!!" Yugi called, running after him. "Shadi!!"  
  
Again Shadi turned back.  
  
"Shadi, some people would've just given in to the poison's control," Yugi said now, his eyes shining. "But you kept on fighting!! You wouldn't give up! Even though you were chasing after me and trying to hurt me, you didn't do it!!" He paused, holding out the Ankh and pleading with his eyes for Shadi to take it back. "And . . . and that's because you never would hurt anyone," he said softly. "Even being under the control of the poison couldn't change that." Gently he pressed the Ankh back into the man's hand. "You haven't disgraced your ancestors in any way at all, Shadi. If anything, you've made them really proud! You're the guardian. You always will be!"  
  
Shadi stared at him for a long while, contemplating, and then slowly closed his fingers around the Ankh. "You are wise beyond your years, Yugi," he said quietly. "I thank you."  
  
Now everyone else began to relax and look around.  
  
"Hey," Tea worried, "what happened to Bakura? I never did get to thank him for saying my life. . . ."  
  
Yami Bakura stepped out from the shadows, Bakura's unconscious body in his arms. The thief had taken his own shirt and wrapped it around the boy's deadly injury to stop the bleeding.  
  
"Bakura!!" Yugi and Tea gasped.  
  
"He will be alright," Yami Bakura growled. "He just needs to rest."  
  
Uncle, meanwhile, was nervously counting up the talismans and trying to figure out which one was missing.  
  
"Well? Which one is it?" Jade asked impatiently. "Dragon Blast? Or maybe Invisibility?" She gestured wildly. "Even Shapeshifting?"  
  
Uncle shook his head at each of those. "No," he said slowly. "The one missing is the Horse Talisman," he said at last.  
  
"The what?" Joey blinked. "Well, what the heck kind of powers does it have? Mind-control?! Super strength?!"  
  
Again Uncle shook his head. "Khu took the Healer."  
  
Everyone blinked.  
  
"Oh," Mai said at last. 


	20. Epilogue

Epilogue  
  
Mako sat with Marik in the hospital room, watching silently as the Egyptian boy tended to his dear friend and brother.  
  
"Rishid will be alright," Mako spoke up kindly. "The doctor said that your being with him has given him the strength to keep fighting for his life."  
  
Marik nodded solemnly, tears glistening in his eyes. "Poor Rishid," he said softly. Slowly he sat down in the other chair by the bed and took the man's limp, cold hand. He searched his mind for any possible subject they could talk about that might get his concentration off what had happened. "Mako," he said at last, "do you know who it was that told you I might be able to help you find your father?"  
  
Mako looked surprised, but then slowly nodded in understanding, realizing what Marik was trying to do. "I didn't know his name, but he said that if I ever found you, I should mention the name 'Martin Collsworth' and that you would take it from there."  
  
Now Marik was the surprised one. "Yes, I knew a Martin Collsworth," he said at last, still holding Rishid's hand. "He was an archaeologist . . . from Boston, I believe. But I can't imagine why he would know anything about your father."  
  
Mako narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. "Perhaps I should go pay a visit to this Martin Collsworth," he mused. "Thank you, my friend, for this clue!"  
  
"Don't thank me just yet," Marik said with a weak smile. He looked down at Rishid again and noticed that his friend was starting to stir. "Rishid?" he whispered.  
  
To his immense relief and joy the man opened his golden eyes and gazed up at him. "Master Marik," he said hoarsely. "Brother . . ."  
  
Marik instantly brightened and gently embraced him. "You're going to be alright, my brother," he declared. "You're going to be alright!"  
  
****  
  
It was several days later when the group met with their local allies to tie up the loose ends in the case.  
  
"Vivalene was Eliza the whole time," Yugi explained as they all sat around on the roof of Uncle's shop. "And Seth posed as the archaeologist son who went to Egypt with Jackie. He wanted to get over there so he could see what the artifacts were that were being excavated."  
  
Uncle nodded. "That is correct! And when he found that they were the ones he had been searching for, he followed Jackie back here and plotted to steal them!"  
  
Jackie shook his head. "I cannot believe I was duped by an ancient high priest from five thousand years ago!" he cried.  
  
"So goes life," Jade shrugged. "But hey, what about the cats?!" She watched as the felines cuddled all over Yami Bakura and then she ran over to pet their soft fur. "Where did they come from?"  
  
"Vivalene stole them from all over town," Seto grunted. "She confessed to that and told the police where to find their owners. She used them as part of the Eliza disguise because she figured it would help make things more authentic."  
  
"They're all just having a last cuddle with Yami before we take them to their real homes," Bakura smiled weakly.  
  
"They're so cuuuute!" Jade cooed. "Do they all have owners?"  
  
"All but one," Tea replied. "That black-and-white one there was a stray." She pointed to a long cat perched on Yami Bakura's shoulder.  
  
"Aww," Jade smiled, "she looks like an Oreo cookie! Hey! Maybe that should be her name—Oreo!"  
  
Yami Bakura grunted, obviously not enjoying the cats snuggling against him any more than he had before.  
  
"Maybe we could keep her!" Jade said hopefully. "Ruby's been wanting a playmate!"  
  
"One cat is quite enough, Jade," Jackie sighed.  
  
"Bakura, do you think your Yami would let you have a cat?" Joey asked with a grin.  
  
Bakura chuckled. "I don't know. Yami?" He glanced over at the thief hopefully.  
  
"Don't be absurd!!" Yami Bakura screamed. "And have this creature using me for a pillow every day?!"  
  
Oreo purred loudly and settled down into Yami Bakura's arms.  
  
"Like it or not, I think she's here to stay," Tristan smirked.  
  
Yami Bakura growled in frustration.  
  
Their thoughts turned back to the case.  
  
"So why did all those villains form a partnership?" Joey wanted to know.  
  
"Greed, mostly," Marik replied from where he was sitting with Ishizu and Rishid. "Vivalene, Daolon Wong, and Seth and his cronies all figured they had something to gain from the partnership. Then they were all planning to betray each other, as you all witnessed the other night."  
  
"Oh, Uncle," Jackie exclaimed finally, "what about the missing Talisman?!"  
  
Uncle whacked him sharply. "Patience!! Uncle is concocting another locator spell in order to find it!!" he replied.  
  
"Most likely Khu took it into the Shadow Realm," Yami Yugi spoke up.  
  
Shadi nodded. "I suspect that he has found a way to pass freely between the dimensions," he said.  
  
"Well, that's just great," Mai muttered, rolling her eyes.  
  
"Hey," Jade said suddenly, "where're you guys off to now? Are you going back up to Domino City?"  
  
"Actually . . ." Yugi smiled and looked at Mako, then back at Jade. "I think we're all going off to Boston to find Martin Collsworth."  
  
Mako smiled as well, hopeful that he would at last be brought closer to his father after all these years.  
  
  
  
"I wish I could come," Jade said wistfully.  
  
"So Yug," Joey said now, "how long do you think we'll be solving mysteries?"  
  
Yugi sighed and shook his head. "I don't know, Joey," he said at last. "I'm just worried that one of these times we won't all make it out . . ." He trailed off, not caring to finish the sentence.  
  
Shadi stood now, looking out at the city of San Francisco thoughtfully. "I will be staying here for a while longer in order to assist in finding the Horse Talisman," he declared.  
  
"Your help is much appreciated," Jackie smiled.  
  
****  
  
Later that evening the group had finished taking the cats to their homes and were walking through Golden Gate Park. Oreo bounced along happily alongside Yami Bakura and rubbed up against his legs whenever she had the chance.  
  
Abruptly a large German Shepherd dog leaped out of the nearby bushes and growled threateningly, baring his teeth. Oreo gave a yowl of panic and scrambled up Yami Bakura's clothes to stand on his head.  
  
The thief cried out in protest and then glared angrily at the dog. "Get out of here, you mangy mongrel!!" he said in irritation. "Go on!!"  
  
The dog stood and glared back for a moment and then disappeared back into the brush.  
  
Bakura had to chuckle at the sight of Oreo perched atop all of Yami Bakura's spiky, silvery hair. "Oh Yami, listen to her purring," he remarked.  
  
"She thinks you rescued her from the dog," Joey smirked.  
  
Yami Bakura hissed in reply and then yelled something loudly in Egyptian. Oreo only leaped down into his arms and snuggled close in contentment.  
  
"Man, I never knew a cat would take such a shine to ol' Yami B," Joey laughed now. "Hey!" he exclaimed then. "What about my double?! And Yami Yugi's?! Was that Seth just foolin' around?!"  
  
Seto sighed. "Seth was your double, Wheeler—at least some of the time." He smirked now. "I've heard that you actually have a lookalike here in the city who's some sort of private investigator."  
  
"Really?" Joey exclaimed. "No way!"  
  
"And what about mine?" Yami Yugi wanted to know.  
  
Seto shrugged.  
  
"Maybe the mystery isn't solved yet," Mokuba exclaimed, his eyes wide.  
  
Ishizu closed her eyes briefly, then opened them once more. "No," she said, "I sense that it is over—but that the Pharaoh's counterpart will play some future part in our lives."  
  
"Intriguing," Yami Yugi said thoughtfully.  
  
"I have been cleared of all criminal charges, haven't I?" Marik asked worriedly, suddenly remembering what had happened with the robberies. Amidst all the other excitement, he had forgotten until now.  
  
Rishid smiled. "Yes, Master," he assured the boy, laying a hand on his shoulder. "Everything has been taken care of."  
  
"Alright, then," Joey grinned. "What're we waitin' for?! Let's catch that plane to Boston!" He threw his fist into the air in emphasis and then started off in the general direction of the airport.  
  
"Wait for us, Joey!" Yugi called as they all hurried after him. "Wait for us!!!"  
  
Joey stopped and waited for them to catch up. "Mystery number nine, here we come!!" he crowed. 


End file.
